[Edaily Reporter Lim Yukyung ] U.S. investment media outlet Motley Fool has named SK hynix(000660)as the “Best AI Memory Stock.” Considering the company’s dominance in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market, its direct benefits from expanding AI infrastructure investments, and its low valuation relative to competitors, the outlet suggested that the recent stock price correction actually presents a buying opportunity.

In a recent opinion piece titled “The Best AI Memory Stock Is Neither Micron Nor SanDisk, but a Korean Company,” Motley Fool assessed that SK hynix offers greater investment appeal than the two U.S. companies that have long been considered the leading beneficiaries of the AI memory market.

The primary reason cited for this assessment was market dominance. According to market research firm IDC, SK hynix secured an overwhelming first place in the HBM market during the first quarter of this year with a 56.4% market share. It also ranks second behind SamsungElectronics in the DRAM and NAND flash markets, establishing a solid foothold across the entire AI memory sector.

In contrast, Micron holds a market share of approximately 22% in the DRAM market and about 14% in the NAND market. SanDisk’s NAND market share also stands at around 14%.

Motley Fool analyzed that, since HBM is a core component in building AI infrastructure, SK hynix is highly likely to benefit more directly from expanded AI investments than its competitors.

It also cited recent earnings as a factor supporting the stock’s investment appeal. SK hynix posted record-breaking earnings in the second quarter, driven by increased sales of HBM, DRAM for AI servers, and enterprise SSDs. The report explains that rising memory prices and an expanded share of high-margin products are boosting profitability, positioning the company as the biggest beneficiary of the AI memory supercycle.

Nevertheless, the report assessed that the recent sharp correction in the stock price actually presents an investment opportunity. The stock price fell as profit-taking selling surged following the earnings announcement due to excessively high market expectations, compounded by debates over whether the memory market has peaked and concerns about Chinese manufacturers expanding their production capacity. However, Motley Fool believes this is a temporary correction driven by weakened investor sentiment rather than a deterioration in the company’s competitiveness.

Mottley Pool noted, however, that there is no need to view the recent correction negatively. It analyzed that SK hynix’s forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 5.5x is similar to SanDisk’s (5.9x) and significantly lower than Micron’s (12x), adding that this low valuation enhances the stock’s investment appeal when considering the company’s dominance in the HBM market and its structural growth potential driven by expanding AI infrastructure investments.

Motley Fool stated, “The recent stock price decline is not due to deteriorating fundamentals but rather the result of heightened market expectations combined with a broader correction in tech stocks,” adding, “This could present an opportunity to buy SK hynix—one of the purest beneficiaries of growing AI memory demand—at a low price.”