SK Hynix Halts Seven-Day Slide at 1,272,000 KRW as Analysts Rally Behind Memory Maker Ahead of October 28 Results
Published on 10/18/2026 at 05:40 | Editorial boerse-global.de
SK Hynix shares found their footing on Friday, snapping a punishing seven-session losing streak that had erased 31.5 percent of the South Korean memory chipmaker's market value since October 6. The stock closed at 1,272,000.00 KRW, a gain of 0.8 percent on the day.
Market watchers pinned the preceding rout on sagging investor confidence and a dearth of buyers rather than any deterioration in semiconductor fundamentals. The pressure came from several directions at once: mounting concerns over the Federal Reserve's interest-rate trajectory, the hefty financing costs tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure buildouts, and competitive noise from China.
A Chinese Challenger and a Nervous Sector
Fears about high-performance memory pricing intensified after CXMT President Cao Kanyu announced roughly a week ago that his company would roll out a DDR5-RDIMM for servers built on a denser 4F² DRAM design by year-end. The disclosure stoked worries about sharper competition in memory and sent SK Hynix down more than 10 percent at one point on Tuesday.
Analysts, however, are pushing back. Young-gun Kim of Mirae Asset Securities reaffirmed his buy recommendation on October 6 and kept his price target at 3.1 million won, arguing that concerns about pricing for high-bandwidth memory chips are overblown. Meritz Securities moved in the opposite direction on valuation — raising its target to 3.2 million won on Monday while maintaining a "Buy" rating, and projecting an operating profit of 80.1 trillion won for the quarter just ended.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying SK Hynix?
The gap between those bullish calls and the market's jitters lays bare the current tug-of-war. Demand for cutting-edge memory is seen as sturdy, yet macroeconomic risks are weighing on sentiment across the technology sector.
Dalian, Solidigm and a Denial
Regulatory and logistical questions added to the unease. Reuters reported that SK Hynix is seeking US approval for additional American-made equipment at its NAND facility in Dalian, China, on behalf of subsidiary Solidigm — a request that got tangled up with considerations about a possible new NAND plant on US soil.
The company moved to set the record straight on Friday, denying any expansion plans. It stressed that no capacity increase is being pursued at the Dalian Mod B site and that equipment installation is proceeding in coordination with, and under authorization from, the US government.
Separately, reports suggested some shipments of backend equipment for HBM4 — originally slated for the second half of 2026 — could slip into 2027. SK Hynix declined to comment on those reports and issued no official statement.
The Numbers That Matter
Attention now shifts to hard figures. SK Hynix will publish its third-quarter 2026 report on October 28, with an investor call scheduled for 09:00 KST. That disclosure should reveal how operating demand and margins actually held up during the quarter.
Friday's close leaves the stock 57 percent below its 52-week high, though it remains up 96 percent since the start of the year — a reminder of how far the shares had run before the recent shakeout.
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