[Click e-Stock] NAND Earnings Forecast Raised... SK Hynix Target Price Set at 880,000 Won

On January 7, Kiwoom Securities raised its target price for SK Hynix to 8.8 million won. This upward revision was driven by an increase in the price outlook for NAND flash, which led to a significant upward adjustment in the operating profit forecast for the NAND flash segment.

Park Yooak, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, stated, "NAND flash, which began to see a market recovery in the second half of last year, experienced a sharp increase in wafer selling prices in the fourth quarter of 2025. In the first quarter of this year, the selling prices of key module products such as eSSD and UFS are expected to surge by 25% to 35% quarter-on-quarter."

Park added, "Since supply growth within the NAND flash industry will be limited in the first half of this year, there is a high possibility of further price increases. Therefore, we expect that the conservative view of market participants toward NAND flash will gradually turn more positive over time."

He further emphasized, "In particular, SK Hynix has been increasing the operating rate of its NAND plants since the end of last year, so we should also consider the possibility that cost improvement may exceed our current expectations."

As a result, Park significantly raised his operating profit forecast for SK Hynix this year. He projected that SK Hynix's revenue will reach 163.2 trillion won, up 72% year-on-year, and operating profit will reach 102.9 trillion won, up 130% over the same period. The operating profit forecast for the NAND flash segment was revised upward from 3.5 trillion won to 13 trillion won.

Park noted, "For standard DRAM, a recovery cycle centered on price increases is emerging due to lower distribution inventory, reduced supply of DDR5, and improved demand for server DRAM. As the recovery in market conditions spreads to the NAND flash industry, we believe that market participants' expectations for performance will be raised once again."

He continued, "Major customers such as PC and server manufacturers are mitigating the burden of memory costs through product price increases, which has further increased the potential for additional price hikes in standard DRAM. While there are concerns that product price increases could eventually lead to reduced set demand with a time lag, we believe that, for the time being, stock prices will continue to rise in line with upward revisions to memory price forecasts."