[South Korea's NH Investment & Securities Maintains 'Buy' Rating for SK Hynix, Lowers Target Price to 3.4 Million KRW] BlockBeats News, July 30: South Korea's NH Investment & Securities has maintained its 'Buy' rating for SK Hynix but lowered its target price from 4.1 million KRW to 3.4 million KRW. Considering the shipment schedule of HBM4 and the faster-than-expected adoption of long-term agreements (LTA), a cautious approach has been taken, with a slight downward revision of earnings forecasts for 2027 to 2028. Nevertheless, the focus remains on the sustainable supply-demand profitability levels brought by LTA implementation rather than the industry's downward cycle. Currently, the market remains highly skeptical about the effectiveness of long-term agreements, and time is needed for validation. Once the market confirms the effectiveness of these agreements, it is expected to drive a re-rating of the company's valuation. Meanwhile, despite the company's significantly improved cash generation capability, the lack of a clear shareholder return framework remains disappointing. If the company can clarify its capital allocation guidelines, it will serve as a key catalyst for driving stock price growth. Given the company's fundamentally solid performance, the recent stock price correction appears excessive. In Q2 2026, SK Hynix achieved sales of 79.3 trillion KRW, a year-on-year increase of 256.8% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 50.9%. Operating profit reached 60.5 trillion KRW, a year-on-year increase of 557.2% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 61.0%. Due to product mix adjustments and the initial implementation of long-term agreements, the company's performance slightly missed market expectations. Looking ahead to Q3 2026, with the acceleration of HBM4 shipments, DRAM and NAND bit growth are expected to increase by 10.0% and 1.3% quarter-on-quarter, respectively. The average selling price is projected to rise by 16.5% and 7.0% quarter-on-quarter, respectively. SK Hynix's operating profit for Q3 2026 is expected to reach 76.2 trillion KRW, a year-on-year increase of 569.6% and a quarter-on-quarter increase of 25.9%.