SK Hynix (SKHY) Stock Falls 3% After Brutal Week, but Goldman Isn’t Backing Down

TLDR

• SK Hynix fell 3% to 1,231,000 won in early Seoul trading Monday, extending its worst weekly drop since 2008.
• Foreign investors sold a net 5.36 trillion won of the stock last week, cutting foreign ownership to 48.85%.
• Worries about AI data center funding, and CoreWeave’s credit stress, are driving the selling.
• Goldman Sachs raised its price target to 3.5 million won, citing tight supply through 2028.
• Third quarter earnings are due October 28, with a call at 9 AM Seoul time.

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SK Hynix (SKHY) stock extended its slide on Monday. In Seoul, it fell 3% to 1,231,000 won in early trading.

SK hynix Inc., SKHY

The U.S.-listed SKHY line was down about 7% in the latest quote. Its TipRanks average price target of $254.70 implies roughly 77% upside.

Last week was rough, though the reports differ on how rough. One puts the weekly drop at 15%, while another says the stock fell 24%, from 1.681 million won to 1.272 million won between October 12 and 16.

Either way, it was the worst week since the 2008 financial crisis. The stock is still up more than 80% this year.

What Is Driving the Selloff

Foreign investors were the main sellers. They dumped a net 5.36 trillion won of SK Hynix last week, according to Korea Exchange figures.

Foreign ownership fell to 48.85%, its lowest level since December 2021. Overseas funds pulled 11.21 trillion won from Kospi stocks overall.

SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics made up nearly 79% of that outflow. Samsung also dropped sharply, with reports citing declines between 9% and 18% depending on the measure.

The core worry is AI financing. Investors are asking whether cloud and AI companies can pay for their data center plans.

CoreWeave is the example everyone points to. Its stock fell almost 12% on Friday, and its credit default swap premium climbed above 1,200 basis points.

Vey-Sern Ling of Union Bancaire Privée warned that “if hyperscalers and neoclouds cannot fund their data center investments, that would translate into lower orders.” My Bui of AMP said rising bond yields and wider credit spreads are pushing up financing costs.

Chinese chipmaker CXMT added to the nerves after reporting progress on denser DRAM chips. Analysts say its ability to build them at scale is unproven.

Goldman and Analysts Push Back

Goldman Sachs raised its 12-month price target to 3.5 million won. It expects supply of standard DRAM, NAND flash and HBM chips to be even tighter in 2027 than in 2026.

The bank sees the shortage lasting through 2028. It also sees little near-term threat from new rivals, since matching major customers’ quality standards takes years.

The Korea Times said the selloff looked overdone, with too few buyers to hold the market up. Cho Sang-hyun of Hyundai Asset Management called it a temporary overreaction to AI bubble fears.

Even the bulls admit evidence of weaker chip orders is thin. The stock is being priced for a possible slowdown, not one that has shown up yet.

Kiwoom Securities analyst Han Ji-young told investors to watch CoreWeave stock, corporate bond yields and default insurance premiums. Sustained foreign buying would also signal returning confidence.

SK Hynix reports third quarter earnings on October 28, with a conference call at 9 AM Seoul time. TrendForce expects conventional DRAM contract prices to rise 10% to 15% this quarter.