Samsung Electronics surges 9%, closing in on 350,000-won milestone

Samsung Electronics surged more than 9 percent Monday morning, putting the stock within striking distance of the 350,000-won threshold.

According to Korea Exchange, Samsung Electronics was trading up 9.15 percent at 346,000 won ($230) as of 11:06 a.m.

The stock opened up 0.79 percent from the previous session before climbing to 349,000 won ($232) — a gain of 10.09 percent — around 10:50 a.m., bringing the 350,000-won mark within reach.

Samsung Electronics shares have surged 164.38 percent so far this year through the previous trading session on Thursday, yet analysts say the stock still has significant room to grow.

The day's sharp rally was driven in large part by strong semiconductor export data released just before the market opened. South Korea's semiconductor exports hit a record $37.2 billion (56 trillion won) in May, the highest monthly figure ever recorded.

South Korea's total exports for May also reached an all-time monthly high of $87.75 billion, a 53 percent increase from a year earlier, buoyed by the semiconductor boom.

Adding to the positive momentum, news that Samsung Electronics on Thursday began the world's first sample shipments of HBM4E — its seventh-generation high-bandwidth memory chip and a key component for the AI industry — continued to lift sentiment.

The company had already become the first in the world to mass-produce and ship HBM4, the sixth-generation product, in February. By delivering HBM4E samples just three months later, Samsung is moving to consolidate its lead in the next-generation AI memory chip market.

Analysts also noted that Samsung has begun supplying HBM4E samples ahead of the roadmap it presented at Nvidia's GTC 2026 conference in March.

The imminent opening of Computex — Asia's largest IT trade show, set to begin Tuesday — also fueled the rally. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is attending the event, where Nvidia will hold its annual AI conference, GTC Taipei, as a side event.

Huang is scheduled to meet with representatives from South Korean companies including Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor Group, LG Electronics, Doosan and Naver while in Taipei. Markets are watching closely to see whether any new cooperation agreements between Huang and South Korean chipmakers will be announced at the meetings.

Brokerage assessments that Samsung Electronics remains undervalued relative to its earnings are also stoking investor appetite.

Kim Young-geon, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said Monday that Samsung's second-quarter and full-year operating profit are estimated at 89 trillion won ($59.2 billion) and 371 trillion won ($247 billion), respectively — both above the market consensus over the past month of 88 trillion won ($58.5 billion) and 358 trillion won ($238 billion). "At the current share price, the stock is in absolutely undervalued territory," he said.

Kim Dong-won, an analyst at KB Securities, offered an upbeat outlook, saying that key AI infrastructure components — including memory chips, substrates and multilayer ceramic capacitors — are increasingly being configured around high-value products, and their share of AI server costs is expected to expand three to five times compared with before. "The earnings improvement at chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix is no more than the top of the first inning," he said, using a baseball analogy.

SK Hynix shares were also up 2.31 percent at 2,387,000 won ($1,590) at the same time.

Brokerages have been raising their price targets for both companies in quick succession. SK Securities on Monday set a target price of 610,000 won ($406) for Samsung Electronics and 4,000,000 won ($2,660) for SK Hynix. KB Securities last week raised its Samsung Electronics target from 450,000 won ($299) to 530,000 won ($353), and its SK Hynix target from 3,000,000 won ($2,000) to 3,800,000 won ($2,530). Mirae Asset Securities also lifted its Samsung Electronics target from 480,000 won ($319) to 550,000 won ($366), and its SK Hynix target from 3,200,000 won ($2,130) to 3,800,000 won ($2,530).