According to F&Guide, South Korean brokerage firms issued 323 downward price target revisions versus 249 upward revisions during the first 16 days of July 2026, marking the first month this year when downgrades exceeded upgrades. The shift reverses a sustained upward bias that began in January, when upward revisions outnumbered downward ones by 4.1 times, peaking at 9.7 times in February before narrowing to 2.2 times by June. The trend extends to major semiconductor stocks: SK Hynix and Samsung