SK Hynix (NASDAQ: SKHY) shares closed at $151.03 on Wednesday, down 2.17%, even as multiple Wall Street firms initiated coverage with bullish ratings following the company's recent U.S. listing. The drop occurred during a broader semiconductor selloff, even as analysts emphasized strong long-term demand for AI memory chips.

Although the stock remains below its July listing price, several brokerages maintained positive outlooks based on SK Hynix's leading position in the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) market and growing demand from artificial intelligence infrastructure projects.

Wall Street Initiates With Buy-Equivalent Ratings

At least six research firms initiated coverage of SK Hynix's U.S.-listed American depositary receipts with buy-equivalent ratings. Analysts highlighted the company's leadership in HBM chips, which are widely used in AI accelerators and advanced data center hardware. SK Hynix is the dominant supplier of HBM to NVIDIA, whose GPUs power much of the current generation of AI training and inference systems, giving it a first-mover advantage as hyperscale data centers expand AI compute capacity.

Rosenblatt Securities assigned the highest price target at $320, while Cantor Fitzgerald launched coverage with an Overweight rating and a $300 target. Other firms suggested the U.S. listing could help narrow the valuation gap between SK Hynix and its American peers.

Bloomberg also reported growing investor interest in companies supplying AI infrastructure as demand for advanced memory continues to expand.

William Blair stated that "the U.S. listing provides an opportunity for SKHY shares to re-rate closer to its U.S.-based rival." Analysts also pointed to stronger long-term visibility driven by AI and data center spending.

AI Memory Demand Underpins Long-Term Outlook

SK Hynix raised approximately $26.5 billion through its secondary U.S. listing after pricing its ADRs at $149. The company benefited from strong demand for AI-related semiconductor investments, even as chip stocks recently faced broader market pressure.

Major technology companies continue to invest heavily in artificial intelligence infrastructure, supporting demand for high-bandwidth memory. Analysts expect global DRAM and NAND demand to remain above manufacturing supply through at least 2029. Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology are also racing to expand their own HBM production capacity, intensifying competition in a market that has become central to the AI hardware supply chain.

Cantor Fitzgerald said the company could benefit from long-term agreements signed by large cloud providers seeking future memory capacity. Analysts also noted that SK Hynix trades at a lower earnings multiple than Micron despite its strong position in AI memory.

Record Profit Overshadowed by Earnings Miss

The positive analyst outlook followed SK Hynix's latest quarterly results, which showed record operating profit but missed market expectations due to delays in advanced memory shipments.

Some investors remained cautious after the company acknowledged that shipment timing affected quarterly performance, despite continued strength in AI demand.

Separately, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix said they plan to increase shareholder returns following record quarterly profits. Samsung stated it is reviewing sustainable capital return measures, while SK Hynix plans to announce a larger shareholder return program before the end of the year.

Reports also indicated that Samsung and SK Hynix have evaluated Chinese semiconductor manufacturing equipment as companies prepare for possible changes in U.S. export restrictions. Samsung later denied testing certain equipment at its China facilities.