Written by Kwan Woo Jun
SK Hynix stock rose to an all-time high as investors continued to flock to the South Korean memory supplier’s stock.
The company, which makes high-bandwidth memory products essential for artificial intelligence applications, recently reported strong first-quarter profits, with net income jumping five times.
SK Hynix, a major supplier to AI chip giant Nvidia, expects chip demand to continue to outstrip supply for years to come, given AI companies’ huge demand for computing power.
The stock rose as much as 13% in early trading Monday, heading for a five-session winning streak and a new record. The stock has nearly tripled this year.
SK Hynix led the sharp rise in domestic semiconductor stocks, with the stock index Kospi rising more than 5% in early trading. The Korea Exchange temporarily suspended trading to reduce market volatility.
The rise in local semiconductor stocks mirrors gains in their U.S. peers, which have soared recently as the AI boom continues. A ferocious rally in chip stocks sent U.S. stocks to new highs on Friday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rising 1.7%, its 11th record close of 2026.
“Amid the rapid growth of AI inference, the global market is reevaluating the value of memory semiconductors,” Daishin Securities analyst Ryu Hyung-geun said on Monday.
“This is not a one-time event, but the beginning of a new era,” Liu said. He raised the target price for SK Hynix stock by 47% to 2.5 million won, equivalent to $1,710. The stock recently traded at 1.887 million shares, up 12%.
South Korean chipmakers are stepping up investment at home and abroad, especially in the United States, to meet the growing demand for AI memory.
SK Hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chip maker, expects prices for its two largest memory chips, DRAM and NAND, to peak in 2027, Morningstar analyst Jing Jie Yu said in a recent note.
Morningstar expects the company’s operating margin to expand from 48.6% in 2025 to 75.7% in 2026 and 77.3% in 2027. SK Hynix expects to raise its dividend from 3,000 won per share in 2025 to 15,000 won per share in 2026 and 16,000 won in 2027.
Please email Jun Kwanwoo at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com.
(Ended) Dow Jones News
05/11/26 0024ET
