SK Group Chair Chey Tae-won Reportedly Makes First-Ever Purchase Of SKHY Shares — Wall Street Expects Stock To More Than Double

• Chey maintained indirect control of the company until now through SK Square, SK Hynix's largest shareholder, which owns about 20% of the chipmaker.
• The transaction value falls just below South Korea's five billion won threshold that would have required a 30-day advance disclosure for a planned stock purchase.
• Analysts at UBS argued that SK Hynix’s current valuation does not fully reflect the company's structurally higher memory profitability, stronger free cash flow generation and improving shareholder returns.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won reportedly made his first-ever personal purchase of the chipmaker's stock amid a sharp pullback in the company’s shares over the past week.

According to a regulatory filing cited by The Korea Herald, Chey purchased 3,620 SK Hynix shares from the open market, valued at about 4.79 billion won (approximately $3.34 million) based on Thursday's closing price.

Chey’s purchase comes amid a more than 25% decline SK Hynix’s American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) in the previous five trading sessions

Why Chey's SKHY Stock Purchase Stands Out

The purchase gives Chey a direct ownership stake in SK Hynix for the first time. Until now, he had maintained indirect control of the company through SK Square, SK Hynix's largest shareholder, which owns about 20% of the chipmaker.

The transaction value falls just below South Korea's five billion won threshold that would have required a 30-day advance disclosure for a planned stock purchase.

Earlier this month, Chey also reiterated his long-term view on the memory chip industry, saying at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Jeju Summer Forum that demand for memory chips would continue.

“Memory chips will continue to be needed, so the stock price will rise over time. Rather than buying and selling repeatedly, it is better to hold on to the shares,” Chey said, according to the report.

Wall Street Sees Triple-Digit Upside Potential In SKHY

According to TheFly, UBS initiated coverage of SK Hynix's U.S.-listed ADRs with a ‘Buy’ rating and a $204 price target, saying that the recent pullback has created an attractive entry point.

SKHY’s ADRs have fallen about 35% from their peak on July 14 and are currently trading 15% below their $149 offering price, with UBS arguing the current valuation does not fully reflect the company's structurally higher memory profitability, stronger free cash flow generation and improving shareholder returns.

Barclays maintained an ‘Overweight’ rating on SKHY, but lowered its price target on SK Hynix to $300 from $330, implying an upside potential of about 136% from Wednesday’s closing price.

The firm trimmed its estimates to account for lower second-quarter (Q2) average selling prices but said high-bandwidth memory pricing should remain a tailwind into 2027.

Barclays also expects a shareholder return announcement later this year to serve as a potential catalyst for the stock.

SKHY Sees AI Memory Demand Remaining Strong

While announcing its Q2 results, SK Hynix said it has finalized long-term supply agreements (LTAs) with around 10 customers, including key strategic partners, as it looks to secure mid- to long-term supply stability.

The company added that it remains in discussions with other major industry customers to expand those agreements.

SK Hynix said that demand continues to be supported by expanding AI infrastructure investments from major technology companies, with additional supply requests continuing to increase.

The company added that because these investments are backed by revenue generated from AI services, it expects the momentum in memory demand to continue, while demand for both AI memory and conventional memory expands in tandem.

What Retail Traders Think Of SKHY

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around SK Hynix trended in the ‘neutral’ territory at the time of writing.

SKHY ADR is down 25% year-to-date. The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) is up 66% over the past 12 months, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) is up 89%.

The S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is up 15% during this period, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) is up 17%.

1 won = $0.0007

Also See: Patrick Moorhead Says Meta's Q2 Earnings Miss Was 'Mostly Self-Inflicted' — META Stock Heads For 11th Straight Decline

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