Samsung Electronics Shares Hit Intraday High — Update

By Kwanwoo Jun

Samsung Electronics shares hit an intraday high Thursday, tracking overnight gains in U.S. technology stocks and leading a rally in South Korean chipmakers.

The South Korean tech giant's stock rose 4.9% to close at 190,000 won, equivalent to $131.72, after touching a record 190,900 won earlier in the session and surpassing the 190,000 mark for the first time.

The benchmark Kospi closed 3.1% higher as trading resumed following a three-day holiday in South Korea.

The rally mirrored overnight gains in U.S. tech stocks, with Nvidia shares rising after the company struck a major artificial-intelligence chip deal with Meta Platforms. Samsung is a key chip supplier for Nvidia.

Samsung's stock extended gains for a fourth straight session as investors welcomed last week's announcement that it had begun mass production and shipments of HBM4, the most advanced high-bandwidth memory chip used in AI processors.

Samsung, the world's largest memory-chip maker, is seeking to regain leadership in the HBM4 market after trailing domestic rival SK Hynix and U.S.-based Micron Technology in recent quarters.

Nomura analysts C.W. Chung and Eon Hwang said that Samsung is likely to benefit from higher average selling prices and increased HBM shipments following its early release of HBM4.

They estimate Samsung could command a 30%-40% premium for HBM4 over the previous-generation HBM3E. The new chip runs at 11.7 gigabits per second, versus 9.6 Gbps for the earlier model, with speeds potentially rising to 13 Gbps.

Samsung is seeking to price its HBM4 at about $700 per unit, according to Seoul-based local newspaper Chosun Ilbo on Thursday. SK Hynix, which previously set HBM4 prices for Nvidia at around $550 per unit, is expected to raise prices to match Samsung's level, the newspaper said.

Samsung declined to comment on the report. Nvidia wasn't immediately available for comment.

Nomura raised its target price for Samsung by 32% to 290,000 won, maintaining a buy rating. The brokerage now expects Samsung's semiconductor division to post operating profit of 44 trillion won for the January-March quarter, up from its earlier forecast of 33 trillion won.

Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 19, 2026 02:26 ET (07:26 GMT)