SK Hynix stock rises 5% as Wall Street sees AI memory upside

Shares of SK Hynix rose on Tuesday after the memory-chip maker received a wave of bullish analyst initiations following its recent US listing, while also unveiling a new open standard for AI memory technology with Sandisk.

The company's American depositary receipts climbed more than 5% as multiple Wall Street firms initiated coverage with Buy-equivalent ratings. The stock had closed at $142.72 on Monday, about 4% below its US listing price from mid-July.

William Blair analyst Sebastien Naji initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $260 price target, implying roughly 82% upside from Monday's closing price.

“Sticker pricing for AI memory and a slow ramp-up of new supply are likely to keep the company’s earnings power higher,” Naji wrote.

Naji described SK Hynix as the "memory leader for the AI era" and said its US listing could help narrow its valuation gap with rival Micron.

Wall Street sees further upside

The bullish sentiment extended beyond William Blair.

Stifel analyst Brian Chin initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $240 price target.

“We believe SK Hynix’s improved execution within a memory industry where demand continues to far outstrip supply, is undervalued,” he said.

Needham, Wedbush, Cantor Fitzgerald, RBC Capital Markets and Rosenblatt also initiated coverage with Buy ratings, according to FactSet.

The average Wall Street price target of $227.84 implies approximately 60% upside from Monday's closing level.

RBC Capital analyst Srini Pajjuri also launched coverage with an Outperform rating and a $200 price target, saying the current memory upcycle could extend through 2027 as generative AI continues to drive structurally stronger demand.

Analysts noted that SK Hynix's ADRs were trading at 6.1 times expected fiscal 2026 earnings, compared with Micron's 11.3 times valuation, suggesting room for multiple expansion as the US listing matures.

Sandisk partnership introduces AI memory standard

Separately, SK Hynix and Sandisk announced the release of the first industry standard for High Bandwidth Flash (HBF), an open technical blueprint designed for next-generation AI memory.

Developed through the Open Compute Project with contributions from Alphabet's Google and AI chip startup Tenstorrent, the specification is intended to bridge the performance gap between high-bandwidth memory and traditional solid-state drives by using NAND flash optimized for faster data transfers.

The HBF specification adopts the Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express (UCIe) standard, allowing the technology to connect with processors from multiple vendors rather than relying on proprietary interconnects.

The open standard could enable future AI servers to combine processors from Nvidia, AMD, Intel and custom AI accelerators while using the same memory architecture, potentially giving hyperscale cloud providers and enterprise customers greater hardware flexibility.

AI demand continues to support memory outlook

SK Hynix, Micron and Samsung Electronics have all benefited from rising demand for AI memory chips as investment in AI infrastructure continues to accelerate while supply remains constrained.

Although memory stocks have traded with greater volatility over the past month amid questions about the durability of AI spending, analysts remain optimistic that tight supply conditions and continued demand for high-bandwidth memory will support earnings over the coming years.