SK hynix shares climbed 3.2% in pre-open trading following a joint unveiling of the first standard specifications for High Bandwidth Flash (HBF) technology with SanDisk at the FMS 2026 conference in Santa Clara, California.
The companies published an open HBF standard through the Open Compute Project that aims to establish a new memory tier positioned between High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and conventional solid-state drives. The specification is designed to address bandwidth and capacity constraints that can limit large-scale AI inference workloads.
According to the specification, HBF can support capacities up to 512GB by stacking NAND dies. The standard defines three bandwidth grades that reach roughly 3.0 TB/s and uses the UCIe chiplet interconnect to enable integration with CPUs and GPUs. The initiative also gained early ecosystem credibility when Google and Tenstorrent confirmed their participation in the HBF consortium.
At the same event SK hynix also revealed its tenth-generation V10 375-layer 4D NAND for the first time. The company said the V10 product delivers about 2.5 times better performance per watt compared with its predecessor and that it is aimed specifically at AI data center deployments.
Wall Street reaction added to the momentum. BofA Securities resumed coverage of SK hynix with a Buy rating and set an ADR price target of $250, highlighting the company’s leading role in high-end memory, expected long-term chip orders from U.S. Big Tech customers, and a record 76% operating margin in Q2 2026. Wolfe Research issued an Outperform initiation with a $200 target, forecasting strong earnings growth through 2027 and 2028 driven by favorable DRAM and NAND pricing trends.
The broader market provided a supportive backdrop: the NASDAQ rose 0.8% and the S&P 500 added 0.2% during the same session.
Together, the release of the HBF specification - which arrives six months after the consortium’s initial launch - the introduction of the V10 4D NAND, fresh high-conviction analyst coverage, and signs of a recovering macro environment combined to produce the pre-market rebound for SK hynix. The stock had been under pressure in the prior session amid geopolitical risk-off sentiment tied to renewed U.S. strikes on Iran.
Summary
SK hynix gained in pre-open trading after co-publishing HBF standards with SanDisk, revealing a new 375-layer 4D NAND product intended for AI data centers, and drawing bullish analyst initiations from BofA Securities and Wolfe Research. The move follows recent market volatility driven by geopolitical tensions.
Key points
- HBF standard published via the Open Compute Project creates a memory tier between HBM and SSDs to relieve bandwidth and capacity bottlenecks for AI inference workloads.
- Technical specs include up to 512GB capacity via stacked NAND, three bandwidth grades reaching ~3.0 TB/s, and UCIe chiplet connectivity; Google and Tenstorrent confirmed consortium participation.
- Analyst coverage: BofA resumed with a Buy and $250 ADR target citing high-end memory leadership and a 76% Q2 2026 operating margin; Wolfe Research started coverage with Outperform and a $200 target, expecting robust earnings growth through 2027-2028.
Risks and uncertainties
- Geopolitical developments - the stock had been pressured by risk-off flows linked to renewed U.S. strikes on Iran, highlighting sensitivity to international events that can affect investor sentiment.
- Market and pricing dynamics - projected earnings growth cited by analysts depends on continued favorable DRAM and NAND pricing trends, which remain uncertain.
- Adoption and ecosystem integration - though Google and Tenstorrent’s participation lends credibility, broader industry acceptance and technical integration will determine HBF’s commercial impact.