SK Hynix Announces ₩40 Trillion Shareholder Return, Samsung Electronics ₩150 Trillion… Maintain Buy Strategy for Semiconductor Stocks

SK Hynix has announced its largest-ever shareholder return policy, amounting to ₩40 trillion. This policy includes share buybacks and cancellations based on free cash flow (FCF), which Manager Kim Heung-tae emphasized as the largest shareholder return policy amount in South Korean history.

Such a large-scale shareholder return clearly demonstrates the company's commitment to enhancing shareholder value and is interpreted as a positive signal to the market.

Market evaluations of SK Hynix's ₩40 trillion shareholder return policy are divided. Some media outlets and investors have expressed skepticism, considering the amount to be smaller than expected. This is primarily because it was deemed relatively low when compared to the scale of shareholder returns by U.S. companies.

However, Manager Kim Heung-tae analyzed that this gap in interpretation might stem from differences in the calculation methods for shareholder returns between South Korea and the U.S.

There are significant differences in the calculation methods for shareholder return policies between the U.S. and South Korea, making direct comparison of percentages difficult. Manager Kim Heung-tae explained that in the U.S., 80% to 100% of free cash flow after all expenses is measured as shareholder return, while in South Korea, the calculation method is different, and even a 50% ratio is by no means a small amount.

Therefore, he added that when evaluating SK Hynix's ₩40 trillion scale, South Korea's corporate culture and accounting methods must be considered.

SK Hynix's ₩40 trillion share buyback is scheduled to occur intensively over three months, a substantial amount that cannot be ignored. Manager Kim Heung-tae explained that approximately ₩9 trillion per month, or an enormous amount, must be consistently purchased based on 20 trading days. This scale is significant even when compared to individual investors' cumulative purchases of ₩100 to ₩130 trillion over the past year.

Therefore, the supply and demand impact from concentrated purchases over three months is expected to have a positive effect on stock prices. This could also potentially amplify individual investors' buying momentum.

Following SK Hynix's shareholder return announcement, expectations for Samsung Electronics' shareholder return are growing. Manager Kim Heung-tae predicted that Samsung Electronics would conduct share buybacks and cancellations exceeding ₩100 trillion, possibly reaching ₩110 to ₩120 trillion.

This is expected to provide additional upward momentum to the market as leading domestic semiconductor companies continue their efforts to enhance shareholder value, following SK Hynix.

Exceeding expectations, Samsung Electronics officially announced its largest-ever shareholder return policy, totaling ₩150 trillion across five memory divisions. Manager Kim Heung-tae expressed surprise at the expanded scale, which was initially expected to be between ₩110 and ₩140 trillion.

This is a significantly higher level compared to SK Hynix's ₩40 trillion and is analyzed to be an opportunity to re-evaluate the corporate value of Samsung Electronics, which is currently in an undervalued valuation range.

Following Samsung Electronics' announcement of a large-scale shareholder return policy, positive outlooks are emerging for the entire semiconductor sector. Manager Kim Heung-tae emphasized to investors never to sell semiconductor stocks and even instructed new members to actively purchase additional existing semiconductor stocks.

The rise in Samsung Electronics' stock price is expected to lead to a concurrent rise in semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment (SooBujang) companies, which should improve overall investment sentiment in the semiconductor industry.

Despite recent news of Moderna's clinical success, uncertainty has been raised regarding whether this success will directly translate into performance for domestic bio companies. Manager Kim Heung-tae pointed out that domestic companies were not directly involved in joint development with Moderna.

Therefore, there is a lack of certainty that Moderna's clinical success will immediately lead to technology transfers or performance improvements for related domestic companies, and he warned against speculative buying based solely on news. He emphasized that even if domestic companies are pursuing technology transfers, specific details are lacking.

Manager Kim Heung-tae recommended maintaining a hold, wait-and-see, and watchlist management stage for the bio sector. However, he mentioned that it would be time to review bio stocks again starting in early September, identifying the European Cancer Congress, scheduled for early September to October, as a key variable.

He plans to adjust the investment strategy for the bio sector in line with the European Cancer Congress schedule, and for now, advised against aggressively pursuing short-term surging stocks.

Manager Kim Heung-tae recently introduced Ingenia Therapeutics as a new stock of interest in the biotechnology sector. He specifically highlighted the company's ophthalmology pipeline and stated that he shared relevant information with members through Band and Telegram.

Ingenia Therapeutics' key pipeline is IGT-427, a treatment for ocular retinal diseases. This candidate substance is currently in Phase 3 clinical trials, and Manager Kim Heung-tae explained that this treatment had previously been licensed to iBio.

The ocular retinal treatment market is an area with significant unmet needs, and the successful progress of IGT-427's clinical trials is expected to have a crucial impact on the company's value.

In addition to its ocular retinal disease treatment, Ingenia Therapeutics also possesses the IGT-303 pipeline for chronic kidney disease. IGT-303 is currently undergoing Phase 2A clinical trials, and Manager Kim Heung-tae stated that key data is scheduled to be announced in the first half of next year.

After the data announcement, the company plans to actively pursue technology transfer, which is also likely to serve as a growth driver for the company. The success of IGT-303 is expected to contribute to Ingenia Therapeutics' pipeline expansion and increased corporate value.

Ingenia Therapeutics' current market capitalization is around ₩900 billion, which is analyzed to be undervalued compared to the ₩1 trillion technology transfer amount to iBio in the past. Manager Kim Heung-tae argued that the market capitalization should at least exceed ₩1 trillion.

Furthermore, compared to the IPO price of ₩12,000, there is ample room for corporate value appreciation, and the current market capitalization does not fully reflect the company's potential. This implies a high possibility of stock price increase depending on future clinical results and technology transfer achievements.

Manager Kim Heung-tae mentioned a strategy for recovering losses in existing bio stocks, but critics point to a lack of specific rationale. He did not clarify the cut-loss point for struggling stocks like Kolon TissueGene, nor did he provide detailed explanations of what alternative investment stocks would be transitioned to after a cut-loss.

While he boasted about recovering some losses by realizing profits from the robot theme, this can be interpreted as separate from the recovery strategy for the bio stocks themselves. From an investor's perspective, additional information on a clear loss recovery plan would be necessary.

Manager Kim Heung-tae disclosed Ingenia Therapeutics' same-day return performance, attracting investor attention. He emphasized that even if one had purchased with a 3% allocation at 10 AM, when the buying point was shared, a 22% return was recorded on the same day.

This highlights both the potential of the new stock of interest and its short-term performance, conveying a message to investors about the possibility of immediate profit generation.

Manager Kim Heung-tae announced that a 2+1 month extension event is currently underway for VIP membership sign-ups. He also informed that a public broadcast would be held tomorrow morning at 7:50 AM, before market open, to communicate with investors.

Through this event, he aims to provide VIP services to more investors and share real-time market analysis and investment strategies through the public broadcast.