SK Hynix Steadies at 1,272,000 KRW as Analyst Upgrades Collide With CXMT Jitters and Musk's Pricing Salvo
Published on 10/16/2026 at 21:50 | Editorial boerse-global.de
SK Hynix shares found their footing on Tuesday, trading at 1,272,000.00 KRW for a gain of 0.8%, a modest bounce that follows a punishing week in which the stock shed 24%. The stabilization comes as investors weigh a fresh round of bullish earnings revisions against mounting competitive threats from China and unusually blunt criticism of memory pricing from one of the industry's largest customers.
A Sell-Side Upgrade Lands Amid the Noise
SK Securities analyst Han Dong-hee raised his profit forecasts for the coming year, pointing to an expected deepening of memory supply tightness and rising prices for High Bandwidth Memory (HBM). The call offers a counterweight to the unease rippling through the sector, and it arrives just ahead of a key catalyst: SK Hynix is scheduled to report third-quarter 2026 financial results on October 28.
The optimism is not confined to one brokerage. Kim Sun-woo of Meritz Securities reaffirmed his buy rating on October 12 and lifted his price target to ?3.2 million, with the firm projecting third-quarter operating profit of ?80.1 trillion — a figure that sits above the broader market consensus. The question hanging over the print is how far demand for advanced server modules can offset headwinds in standard DRAM.
CXMT's 4F² Disclosure Rattles the Market
Behind the recent volatility lies a technological challenge from ChangXin Memory Technologies. The Chinese chipmaker's president, Mark Cao, announced progress on October 10 toward a denser 4F² DRAM cell architecture, with server DDR5 products built on that design targeted for availability by the end of 2026. The disclosure stoked fears of intensified competition and potential price pressure on established players.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying SK Hynix?
Questions about yield rates and customer certification for the Chinese products remain unresolved, but the announcement was enough to fuel worries about future oversupply. As Reuters noted, the news landed alongside broader nervousness about the scale of forthcoming artificial intelligence investments. The incumbents are hardly standing still, however: both Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are reported to be working on comparable 4F² architectures of their own to defend their technological lead.
Musk Takes Aim at Memory Pricing
Adding to the sector's unsettled mood was Elon Musk, who publicly described memory chip pricing as extortionate. His remarks, according to media reports, were aimed squarely at Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, while he singled out US rival Micron for praise. The intervention from such a prominent buyer underscores the pricing tension building between memory suppliers and the AI infrastructure builders who depend on them.
SK Hynix Charts a Course Beyond HBM
Management is preparing for a fundamental shift in how data centers are built. Chief Development Officer Ahn Hyun argued that HBM alone will not be enough to defend the company's leadership in AI memory, projecting that global AI infrastructure could expand nearly twentyfold by 2030 compared with 2026.
To meet that demand, SK Hynix is pushing development of alternative architectures, including 3D-stacked DRAM, high-bandwidth flash memory, and memory pooling built on the CXL standard. Such systems are intended to optimize data throughput in data centers and ease bottlenecks during complex model computations.
Equipment Timelines Under Review
Industry observers are also watching the next phase of capacity buildout. Media reports suggest some orders for backend manufacturing equipment for HBM4 production could slip from 2026 to 2027 — a possible scheduling adjustment rather than a confirmed corporate decision. For SK Hynix, expanding manufacturing capacity for advanced AI memory remains a decisive factor in reliably serving rising demand from major customers.
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SK Hynix Stock: New Analysis - 16 October
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