SK Hynix rises as brokerages launch coverage with bullish ratings

The company 000660.KS had priced its ADRs at $149 for the secondary listing and raised about $26.5 billion, aided by strong investor interest in AI-focused high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips.

Massive AI infrastructure spending has fueled demand for HBM chips, driving up prices and making memory manufacturers key beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence boom.

At least six brokerages, including BofA Global Research, started coverage on SK Hynix with a "buy"-equivalent rating. Rosenblatt Securities set the highest price target on the stock at $320.

Bank of America was the underwriter for SK Hynix's U.S. secondary offering, along with Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan.

"We believe the U.S. listing provides an opportunity for SKHY shares to re-rate closer to its U.S.-based rival (Micron), which should compound with a more structural re-rating of shares driven by longer-term visibility and strong tie-in to AI and data center end markets," said analysts at William Blair.

However, the positive reception was in contrast to the company's latest earnings report, which came a few days after the U.S. listing.

SK Hynix posted a record quarterly profit but fell short of analysts' forecasts due to delays in shipments of advanced memory products, raising concerns about the pace of AI-related spending.

BofA said SK Hynix remains undervalued, citing strong orders from U.S. technology companies, leadership in high-end memory chips and expectations for "super-cycle" earnings as AI infrastructure spending continues to ramp up.

Recently listed U.S. shares of SK Hynix SKHY.O rose 5% after six brokerages started coverage of the South Korean chipmaker with bullish ratings, citing its dominance in the booming AI memory market and access to a broader global investor base.