SK Hynix’s Run to $1 Trillion: Analysts See Supply Squeeze Lasting Until 2028

Mirae Asset raises SK Hynix price target 18.8% on chip supply lagging demand until at least 2028, as DRAM and NAND prices soar amid AI-driven high-bandwidth memory bottleneck.

The memory-chip rally sweeping South Korea’s technology giants is being powered by a force that looks set to persist far longer than a typical cyclical upswing. Analysts at Mirae Asset Securities have raised their price target on SK Hynix by 18.8 percent to 3.8 million won, arguing that chip supply will lag demand until at least 2028. The call comes as the company’s market capitalisation briefly crossed the $1 trillion mark this week, joining Samsung and Micron in an elite club of semiconductor groups worth more than a trillion dollars.

Underpinning that valuation is a stark improvement in the company’s financials. In the first quarter of 2026, SK Hynix booked revenue of 52.6 trillion won – the first time it has topped the 50 trillion threshold – and operating profit of 37.6 trillion won, yielding an operating margin of 72 percent. Net liquidity stood at 35 trillion won, comprising cash and equivalents of 54.3 trillion won against interest-bearing debt of 19.3 trillion won. The cash pile gives the group ample firepower to expand its production capacity for high-bandwidth memory, server DRAM and enterprise SSDs.

The pricing environment is the dominant driver. Average selling prices for DRAM are forecast to jump 184 percent this year, while NAND prices are expected to surge 231 percent, according to Mirae Asset analyst Kim Young-gun. His projections reflect a structural shortage that began in the first quarter, when memory-chip prices doubled from the preceding period, and that could push prices up by as much as 63 percent in the current quarter. High-bandwidth memory, essential for Nvidia’s and other AI processors, is at the heart of the bottleneck, soaking up supply that would otherwise go to smartphones, laptops and automobiles.

The market took note. On Wednesday the SK Hynix share price surged 9.3 percent to close at 2,243,000 won, having hit an intraday peak of 2,258,000 won the following day – a new 52-week high. The stock has gained 233.53 percent since the start of the year and 73.69 percent over the past month. The broader KOSPI index rose 2.3 percent on Wednesday, briefly touching an all-time high of 8,457 points, driven in part by the chipmaker’s strength.

That rally has been fuelled by both institutional and retail money. Financial investors in South Korea bought a net 1.3 trillion won of equities, while foreign investors were net sellers. The retail crowd has also discovered new leveraged single-stock exchange-traded funds that track SK Hynix and Samsung, with some of those products posting double-digit gains on their debut. In the United States, fresh capital flowed into an ETF holding both names.

Yet the rapid ascent has stretched the stock’s technical indicators. The relative strength index stands at 68.9, not yet in overbought territory but signalling robust momentum. The share price is roughly 70 percent above its 50-day moving average, a gap that leaves little room for disappointment. For Kim and other bulls, the key question is whether memory prices will stay high long enough to justify the elevated targets. If the shortage persists, the current valuation might look cheap; if it eases, the stock carries the risk of a sharp correction after its historic run.