“Can the dream of ‘Samsung Electronics reaching 100,000 won’ become a reality?” This is the most common question following Samsung Electronics’ stock price recovery to the 80,000 won range, marking about three years since the entire nation was buoyed by the dream of “100,000 (Samsung) Electronics” back in 2021.
Foreign investors are behind the resurgence of the “100,000 Electronics” narrative. In the first three months of this year, the net purchase amount of stocks in the securities market by foreign investors exceeded 15 trillion won for the first time ever. Among these, the net purchase amount for Samsung Electronics’ stock reached 5.5025 trillion won. The increase in stock price was driven by the inflow of funds into domestic semiconductor stocks, prompted by the strong performance of the American semiconductor company Micron Technology.
Securities firms have already set Samsung Electronics’ target price at up to 107,000 won. According to market tracker FnGuide, the average target price for Samsung Electronics, which was 91,917 won three months ago and 79,227 won a year ago, has risen to 96,750 won. The number of securities companies with a target price of over 100,000 won has increased to 10—Daishin, Daol, DB, Eugene, Kiwoom, Korea, Meritz, Mirae Asset, NH, and SK Securities.
“It’s like a lethargic giant that has been in a long hibernation has finally woken up and started to stretch,” said Lee Seung-woo, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, who raised the target price by 17% to 107,000 won. “The extent of performance improvement is expected to exceed consensus (market expectations), and it seems that we have started to find clues even in HBM, which has been pointed out as an Achilles’ heel,” the researcher explained. “While non-memory is still holding back earnings and stock prices, we expect the company to escape from the quagmire of losses by the end of the first half of this year.”
Individual investors appear unsettled, wavering in uncertainty. Entering Samsung Electronics now reminds them of past losses, and yet, not investing is painful as the goal of “100,000 Electronics” seems close. Last month, individual investors sold off 4 trillion won worth of stock, primarily unloading shares that had been stuck around 80,000 won for three years, trying to break even.
“We need to pay attention to whether the focus on semiconductor stocks will continue, with the expected turnaround to profitability in memory semiconductors and improvement in foundry performance at the upcoming Samsung Electronics earnings announcement on April 5,” said Lim Jung-eun, a researcher at KB Securities. “It’s necessary to be cautious as the potential for further gains may be limited due to the recent rapid increase in the short term.”
