--- title: "Morgan Stanley says sell Hanmi Semiconductor at 82 times earnings even as its chairman keeps buying" description: "Morgan Stanley cut the near-monopoly maker of the machines that stack AI memory to Underweight a week after Samsung ended a decade-long order drought. Q3 results due by November 16 will judge which side is right." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Markets" published: 2026-10-15T16:14:52.937Z modified: 2026-10-15T16:14:52.937Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/morgan-stanley-says-sell-hanmi-semiconductor-at-82-times-earnings-even-as-its-chairman-keeps-buying language: en keywords: "Morgan Stanley, Hanmi Semiconductor, Semiconductors, South Korea, Analyst Ratings, HBM" --- # Morgan Stanley says sell Hanmi Semiconductor at 82 times earnings even as its chairman keeps buying > Morgan Stanley cut the near-monopoly maker of the machines that stack AI memory to Underweight a week after Samsung ended a decade-long order drought. Q3 results due by November 16 will judge which side is right. On October 13, 2026, [Morgan Stanley](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/morgan-stanley) analyst Ryan Kim cut Hanmi Semiconductor (KOSPI: 042700), the Korean maker of chip-assembly tools, [from Equalweight to Underweight, a sell rating](https://www.streetinsider.com/Analyst+Comments/Morgan+Stanley+Downgrades+Hanmi+Semiconductor+Co+%28042700%3AKS%29+to+Underweight/27175692.html), with a 200,000-won target [1]. The stock closed October 15 at 190,900 won, 55.2 percent below its 52-week high of 426,000 [2]. The target sits about five percent above a halved price, and the bank still wants out: at that close Hanmi traded at 81.89 times trailing earnings against 7.66 for its sector [2]. The note's reasoning is paywalled; only the rating and the number are public [1]. *Chart: **Morgan Stanley's sell target sits five percent above a price already down 55 percent** Column chart comparing Hanmi Semiconductor's 52-week high of 426,000 won, Morgan Stanley's 200,000-won target and the October 15 close of 190,900 won* *Hanmi Semiconductor share price in Korean won: the 52-week high of 426,000 won, the October 15, 2026 close of 190,900 won and Morgan Stanley's 200,000-won price target set on October 13, 2026. Sources: StreetInsider; NewsQuest. [1][2]* ## The order book points the other way Hanmi, founded in 1980 and chaired by Kwak Dong-shin, builds the thermal-compression bonders that stack DRAM dies into high-bandwidth memory, the stacked chips AI accelerators depend on; TrendForce puts its share of that market near 90 percent, with [SK hynix](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/sk-hynix) and [Micron](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/micron) as anchor customers [3][5]. Its second quarter was the best in company history: [revenue of 251.1 billion won, up 39.5 percent, on a 51.9 percent operating margin](https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20260714_0003708351) [4]. SK hynix signed a 44.2 billion won contract in June for about 15 of the newest bonders [3]. On October 6 Samsung Electro-Mechanics [ordered 24.48 billion won of MSVP dicing-and-inspection equipment](https://www.diesignal.com/articles/hanmi-semiconductor-wins-24-5b-won-samsung-electro-mechanics-order-487e433b), Hanmi's first large Samsung Group order since a 2011 patent win over Semes, then Samsung's equipment arm, froze the relationship; delivery runs to December 2027 [5][2]. Kwak's greeting in the release was one line: "Welcome to the Samsung Group" [5]. *Chart: **Samsung is back on Hanmi's order book, still far behind SK hynix** Bar chart of Hanmi Semiconductor's disclosed 2026 equipment contracts: SK hynix 44.2 billion won, Samsung Electro-Mechanics 24.48 billion won, UTAC 7.8 billion won.* *Disclosed contract values in billions of won. SK hynix order signed June 2026; Samsung Electro-Mechanics order disclosed October 6, 2026, running to December 2027; UTAC order reported October 2026. [3][5][6]* ## The 702 billion won buyback does not exist Word traveled this week that [Hanmi had bought 702 billion won of its own shares on October 7](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/nebenwerte/hanmi-semiconductor-kauft-eigene-aktien-was-das-fuer-die-hanmi-semiconductor-aktie-bedeutet/70295619) [7]. The Korean record says otherwise: 70.2 billion won is what chairman Kwak has spent of his own money since 2023, and [the October 7 purchase was a 700 million won tranche](https://www.msn.com/ko-kr/news/other/%EA%B3%BD%EB%8F%99%EC%8B%A0-%ED%95%9C%EB%AF%B8%EB%B0%88%EB%8F%84%EC%B2%B4-%ED%9A%8C%EC%9E%A5-%EC%98%AC%ED%95%B4-%EC%9E%90%EC%82%AC%EC%A3%BC-167%EC%96%B5-%EB%A7%A4%EC%9E%85-%EB%88%84%EC%A0%81-702%EC%96%B5-%EC%A7%80%EB%B6%84-3363/ar-AA2dJLAJ), 2,549 shares at 274,235 won each, lifting his stake to 33.63 percent [9]. No corporate buyback was disclosed. What exists is a chairman averaging down, about 30 percent underwater on his latest buy [2][9]. ## The bear case reads the same facts First-half 2026 revenue fell 7.7 percent and operating profit fell 11.0 percent year on year; one record quarter has not filled that hole [2]. More than half of Hanmi's revenue comes from SK hynix, and the two spent roughly a month in [a supply standoff before Hanmi's service engineers returned to SK hynix's Icheon fab in September](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/unternehmensnachrichten/sk-hynix-clears-hanmi-supply-snag-wins-28-6-billion-buyback-as-ai-memory-demand-swells/70133165) [8]. Samsung has never bought the flagship bonder at scale. Asked about it last year, Kwak said only: "If the client wishes, we can proceed" [5]. ## November 16 settles it Q3 results are due by November 16 [7]. Three readings decide the argument: whether TC bonder orders accelerate in the second half as Kwak has forecast [3]; whether MSVP sales land [near the 700 billion won securities firms expect this year](https://stockhub.kr/en/news/news_bb3e5eb576d1), roughly 30 percent of revenue, after January to August already beat all of 2025 [6]; and whether Samsung's return widens from substrate tools to the bonders themselves. The bank voted with a price target; the chairman has voted 70.2 billion won of his own cash. The next mark lands in a month. ## Takeaway Morgan Stanley's Underweight is a valuation call at 82 times earnings; the order book, Samsung's return and the chairman's 70.2 billion won of personal buying argue the opposite, and Q3 results by November 16 settle it. ## Sources 1. [StreetInsider, Morgan Stanley Downgrades Hanmi Semiconductor Co (042700:KS) to Underweight, 13 October 2026](https://www.streetinsider.com/Analyst+Comments/Morgan+Stanley+Downgrades+Hanmi+Semiconductor+Co+%28042700%3AKS%29+to+Underweight/27175692.html) 2. [NewsQuest (이승주), 'SK 우군' 한미반도체, 삼성 품으로 MSVP 확대…하반기 실적 반등 신호탄 될까, 15 October 2026](https://www.newsquest.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=302767) 3. [TechTimes, Hanmi Semiconductor Cements TC Bonder Leadership at SEMICON West as HBM4 Orders Surge, 15 October 2026](https://www.techtimes.com/articles/329060/20261015/hanmi-semiconductor-cements-tc-bonder-leadership-semicon-west-hbm4-orders-surge.htm) 4. [Newsis (김경택), 한미반도체, 2분기 매출 2511억…역대 최대 실적 달성, 14 July 2026](https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20260714_0003708351) 5. [Die Signal, Hanmi Semiconductor Wins 24.5B Won Samsung Electro-Mechanics Order, 10 October 2026](https://www.diesignal.com/articles/hanmi-semiconductor-wins-24-5b-won-samsung-electro-mechanics-order-487e433b) 6. [StockHub, [Exclusive] Hanmi Semiconductor's MSVP Sales Surge Amid AI Substrate Boom, October 2026](https://stockhub.kr/en/news/news_bb3e5eb576d1) 7. [ad-hoc-news, Hanmi Semiconductor kauft eigene Aktien: Was das für die Hanmi-Semiconductor-Aktie bedeutet, October 2026](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/nebenwerte/hanmi-semiconductor-kauft-eigene-aktien-was-das-fuer-die-hanmi-semiconductor-aktie-bedeutet/70295619) 8. [ad-hoc-news, SK Hynix Clears Hanmi Supply Snag, Wins $28.6 Billion Buyback as AI Memory Demand Swells, 19 September 2026](https://www.ad-hoc-news.de/boerse/news/unternehmensnachrichten/sk-hynix-clears-hanmi-supply-snag-wins-28-6-billion-buyback-as-ai-memory-demand-swells/70133165) 9. [Dailyian (via MSN), 곽동신 한미반도체 회장, 올해 자사주 167억 매입…누적 702억·지분 33.63%, 6 October 2026](https://www.msn.com/ko-kr/news/other/%EA%B3%BD%EB%8F%99%EC%8B%A0-%ED%95%9C%EB%AF%B8%EB%B0%88%EB%8F%84%EC%B2%B4-%ED%9A%8C%EC%9E%A5-%EC%98%AC%ED%95%B4-%EC%9E%90%EC%82%AC%EC%A3%BC-167%EC%96%B5-%EB%A7%A4%EC%9E%85-%EB%88%84%EC%A0%81-702%EC%96%B5-%EC%A7%80%EB%B6%84-3363/ar-AA2dJLAJ) --- Morgan Stanley says sell Hanmi Semiconductor at 82 times earnings even as its chairman keeps buying — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/morgan-stanley-says-sell-hanmi-semiconductor-at-82-times-earnings-even-as-its-chairman-keeps-buying