Applied Materials Climbs 4% as SK Hynix Forecasts Memory Shortage Through 2030

Applied Materials shares rose 4% to approximately $412 on October 28, part of a broad rally in chip equipment stocks triggered by SK Hynix's forecast that a memory shortage will persist into 2030. Lam Research led the group with a gain of 5%, while KLA added 3%, and Micron rose 4.6%. SK Hynix, which reported a 632% jump in quarterly profit and its first 100 trillion won quarter, said on October 28 that strong demand for advanced memory tied to AI infrastructure will keep supply tight for years, implying a prolonged wave of fab construction that benefits the equipment makers who supply it. Applied Materials outperformed broader market peers on the day and MarketWatch noted its stock outperformed competitors on what it called a strong trading session.

Also on October 28, Applied Materials was among seven additional companies that filed objections with the OKX-ICE tokenized stock venue, bringing the total number of objectors to 33 out of the 62 companies the exchange had initially named. The other new objectors included JPMorgan Chase, AMD, Coca-Cola, Adobe, Dell Technologies, and SanDisk. The objections, which began with nine companies on October 15, now represent more than half of the firms OKX and Intercontinental Exchange had planned to feature on their platform.

Separately, a Seeking Alpha analysis published the same day characterized Applied Materials as a top-quality, undervalued AI leader, citing the company's track record of revenue growth, profitability, and share buybacks, as well as business moats built on scale advantages and switching costs. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC also disclosed that it raised its Applied Materials stake by 26.4% during the most recent quarter, adding 1,482 shares to bring its total holding to 7,088 shares.