SK Hynix shares extended a sharp pullback this week, falling 8.79% on Aug. 3, rebounding 0.64% and 5.77% on Aug. 4 and 5, then dropping 10.37% on Aug. 6 to close at 1.495 million won and sliding another 4.88% on Aug. 7 to 1.422 million won. As market volatility picked up, SK Group ran an advertisement invoking founder Chey Jong-hyon’s line that "despair and hope are two sides of the same coin" and recasting it for the AI era to signal confidence in the sector’s long-term trajectory. Securities firms said the share swings do not alter SK Hynix’s core outlook, highlighting its HBM4 (high-bandwidth memory, AI-focused advanced chip memory) lead and LTA (long-term supply agreement) contracts as key anchors. Hyundai Motor Securities forecast third-quarter DRAM and NAND bit growth of 9.7% and 1.5%, respectively, and said DRAM ASP (average selling price) could still rise 19.9% quarter on quarter as HBM4 sales contribute more, even if the share of long-term contracts increases. The brokerage also pointed to OpenAI and Anthropic pushing ahead with self-built hyperscale AI data centers and planning IPO funding for related construction, arguing that any future capex cuts by some large technology companies could be offset by other AI infrastructure demand. On competition concerns tied to China’s CXMT, it said tougher U.S. export restrictions on semiconductor equipment and Micron’s expanding domestic U.S. investment make adoption of Chinese memory chips by major companies such as Apple less likely. SK Securities also maintained a positive view, citing SK Hynix’s leadership in HBM, ties with major North American GPU companies and AI-driven LTA demand. It said current HBM supply-demand fulfillment is below 70% and argued the core value of LTAs lies in a mutually binding structure between customers and suppliers that helps secure profit continuity and earnings stability. The brokerage added that valuation re-rating steps including an ADR listing, along with dividend gains from selling SPC assets related to Kioxia, could bring forward the company’s goal of reaching 100 trillion won in net cash. It said clearer future shareholder return policy could help the market reassess the value of the LTA model and lift SK Hynix’s valuation further.