[Click e-Stock] "SK Telecom, Priced-In Negatives Make It a Solid Investment Amid Hacking Fallout"

On September 17, Hana Securities analyzed SK Telecom, stating that the company may experience short-term stock price weakness until early October due to the burden of an operating loss in the third quarter. However, the firm believes there is a high possibility that the stock price will take a step up starting in mid-October. The target price was set at 70,000 won, and the investment rating was maintained as 'Buy'.

Telecommunications stocks, which have attracted market attention due to expectations of separate taxation on dividends, are currently facing challenges for investors to buy, given a series of recent hacking incidents. Even in this situation, SK Telecom is considered the most stable alternative. This is because, after being subject to business suspension and fines, the company has already announced and implemented its own compensation plan, making the likelihood of additional negative events relatively low.

Kim Hongsik, a researcher at Hana Securities, commented, "SK Telecom is the only company among the three major domestic telecom operators whose related negative factors have already been priced in, amid the widespread impact of hacking incidents in Korea. With this year's low operating profit as a baseline, SK Telecom is projected to achieve the highest consolidated operating profit growth among the three in 2026. Additionally, the foreign ownership ratio is at a historically low level of 36%, the second lowest ever, which suggests significant room for improvement in supply and demand over the long term."

Kim added, "The market is already reflecting the worst-case scenario, making it difficult for expectations to fall any further, and foreign selling also appears to have peaked. In the past, telecom stock price bottoms have coincided with the lowest points of foreign ownership ratios. In this sense, now may be an opportunity to buy SK Telecom at its bottom."