Hyundai Motor Shares Skyrocket with AI & Robotics Innovation

By Kwanwoo Jun Hyundai Motor shares rose at their fastest pace in five years to a record on Monday, supported by the South Korean carmaker's push into physical artificial intelligence and robotics. Shares of the auto giant jumped 16% to close at 480,000 won, equivalent to $325.74, marking their sharpest daily percentage gain since Jan. 8 2021. The stock outperformed the benchmark Kospi, which rose 1.3%. The rally significantly boosted Hyundai's market value, allowing the carmaker to overtake battery maker LG Energy Solution as the third-largest company on the Kospi, behind chip-making giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. Hyundai shares have risen more than 60% so far this month, as investors cheer the company's accelerated shift toward artificial intelligence and robotics. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month, Hyundai unveiled Atlas humanoid robots developed by its robotics unit Boston Dynamics. The robots are expected to be deployed at factories by 2028 for simple sequencing tasks and by 2030 for complex assembly work. Hyundai plans to produce 30,000 Atlas units per year globally. The auto group's recent partnership with Google DeepMind and Nvidia on physical AI was praised by Samsung Securities analyst Esther Yim. Google and Nvidia selected Boston Dynamics for physical AI because Hyundai and its sibling carmaker Kia can offer strong mass-production capabilities, an integrated value chain and rich behavioral datasets, Yim said in a recent report. She raised her target price for Hyundai by 63% to 650,000 won. The growing likelihood that Atlas robots will move beyond the research-and-development stage into commercialization is now being fully reflected in Hyundai's share price, Hanwha Investment & Securities analyst Stephen Sungrae Kim said in a recent note. Will Cho of HSBC raised his target price for Hyundai by 81% to 580,000 won on Monday, joining a growing number of analysts turning increasingly upbeat on the stock. "We do not think [the] valuation upside is fully priced in, as tangible proof points in robotics and AI will support re-rating momentum," Cho said. Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires 01-19-26 0432ET