Global Investment Banks Praise SK Hynix Share Buybacks: What Is the 'Key Variable'?

Global investment banks have given positive evaluations of SK Hynix's shareholder return policies, including its share buyback program.

In a report, Simon Coles, an analyst at Barclays, described SK Hynix's 40 trillion won share buyback as a "strong signal" to increase the weighting of shares, diagnosing that the current stock price is undervalued.

He analyzed that SK Hynix's decision to return more than 50% of its cumulative free cash flow for 2025–2027 amounts to "approximately 15% of its market capitalization."

At the same time, he maintained an "overweight" rating and a price target of 300 dollars for SK Hynix American Depositary Receipts (ADRs).

Other securities firms have also issued positive outlooks in succession.

JPMorgan evaluated that SK Hynix's recent announcement of share buybacks and retirements came faster than expected.

It added that the commitment to retire 39.4 million shares over the past eight months is the most aggressive level among memory competitors.

Nomura likewise maintained a "buy" rating and a target price of 4.7 million won for SK Hynix.

On the other hand, Morgan Stanley maintained its "overweight" rating on SK Hynix while warning that limited interconvertibility between domestic shares and ADRs serves as a restrictive factor for ADR expansion.

(Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Kim Minji | Graphics by Yang Hyemin | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.