SK Hynix (SKHY) stock is trading around $186 after its US listing last week, with the ADRs priced at $149 apiece — and Wall Street wasted no time making its feelings known.
The IPO order book reached roughly $171.5 billion during bookbuilding. With 177.9 million ADRs on offer, that’s more than seven times the available supply. Most buyers got far less than they asked for.
Three heavyweight names — Coatue Management, Baillie Gifford, and Situational Awareness — indicated interest of up to $7 billion combined. Sovereign wealth funds, tech-focused funds, and global long-only managers were also in the mix.
That kind of demand is hard to ignore, especially given the timing.
Memory stocks — including SK Hynix’s Seoul-listed stock and Micron — had tumbled into bear market territory in the days before the US listing. Investors were selling the sector on fears the cycle was peaking, even as one rival posted a record quarter. And yet institutions were lining up to pour billions into SK Hynix at the same time.
Barclays initiated coverage on Tuesday with an Overweight rating and a $330 price target, implying upside of nearly 117% from Monday’s close of $152.35.
Analyst Simon Coles argues DRAM supply tightness will worsen in 2027, with bit supply growth of around 20% year-over-year expected to fall well short of demand growth accelerating to 35%. He sees that tightness persisting for years.
On SK Hynix specifically, Coles expects the company to hold its lead in high-bandwidth memory (HBM). He said perceived technology disadvantages versus Samsung should be “neutralised by HBM4E,” with SK Hynix retaining a 50%-plus HBM share for the foreseeable future.
Coles also pointed to a shift in the investment case toward capital returns. He estimates SK Hynix will hold cash equivalent to more than 40% of its current market cap by end of 2027, giving it room for buybacks. Assuming a $50 billion buyback program, Barclays models double-digit EPS growth in 2028 — even with average selling prices flat or modestly declining.
Coles flagged that China’s memory players are advancing quickly. The top Chinese DRAM maker improved its DDR5 yield to over 75% by end of 2025, with bit shipments estimated up 55% year-over-year in 2025 and 48% in 2026.
But he sees the near-term global impact as limited. Any Chinese share gains outside China would free up only 1-4% of combined capacity at Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron. And China’s HBM3 development remains delayed, with mass production likely pushed to 2027.
The US listing itself raised approximately $26.5 billion, per a regulatory filing, making it one of the largest offerings in recent memory.
Barclays’ $330 price target stands as the first formal Wall Street call on the ADRs since trading began.
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