SK Hynix Hits 1.3 Million Won for First Time, but BNK Cuts Rating to Hold

SK Hynix climbed past 1.3 million won for the first time and set a record high, but a local brokerage has turned cautious on the stock. It was the first time in nine months that a Yeouido brokerage report downgraded SK Hynix from buy.

As of 2 p.m. on April 27, shares of SK Hynix touched 1,305,500 won in Kospi trading, the first time the stock had risen above 1.3 million won. That is nearly double its 677,000 won closing price on the first trading day of this year. BNK Investment & Securities, however, published a report titled "Slowing Momentum in the Second Half" and cut its rating on SK Hynix to hold from buy. It left its target price unchanged at 1.3 million won, diverging from major brokerages that have recently set targets above 2 million won.

Lee Min-hee, an analyst at BNK Investment & Securities, wrote that first-quarter revenue and operating profit came to 52.57 trillion won and 37.61 trillion won, respectively, beating market estimates by 1% and 3%. Still, the results fell short of investor expectations for quarterly operating profit of more than 40 trillion won. Profitability also improved less than the rise in average selling prices. He attributed that to higher unit production costs for both DRAM and NAND.

Lee expects earnings to improve this year, but said growth momentum will slow in the second half. He projects second-quarter operating profit at 60.25 trillion won. But capital spending by major customers, including global big tech companies, has been easing since March, he wrote. A higher share of HBM4 sales, which are relatively less profitable, also weighed on the outlook.

Lee forecasts SK Hynix will post about 236 trillion won in operating profit this year. That is well below estimates from major brokerages including NH Investment & Securities, at about 247 trillion won, and KB Securities, at about 257 trillion won. He said shareholder return measures in the second half and a potential American depositary receipt issuance could support the stock. Even so, he said the shares should be viewed as trading in a range and are now shifting into a low price-to-earnings stock.

The last time a brokerage downgraded SK Hynix was in July 2025. Mirae Asset Securities and DB Financial Investment each cut the stock to hold from buy that month. At the time, the view was that the sharp rally had already priced in much of the company's value.

Oh Hyun-ah, Hankyung.com reporter 5hyun@hankyung.com