Samsung Electronics shares hit a record high on Friday after reporting strong earnings a day before, prompting analysts to boost their price target for the stock and forecast never-before-seen profit for the electronics giant. The South Korean firm saw shares hit 2.

It comes after Samsung reported a 48 percent year-on-year rise in its first quarter operating profit to 9. This boosted the company's stock price, and on Friday, a number of analysts upgraded their outlook and forecast record earnings for the full year. Nomura upped its price target from 2. This represents the prospect of 48 percent upside from Friday's close.

It also said it expects operating profit of The previous highest came in when the company reported full-year operating profit of CW Chung, the author of Nomura's note, said profit will be driven by higher memory prices, "full-fledged earnings contribution" from Samsung's newest flagship Galaxy S8 smartphone, and rising organic light-emitting diode OLED display panel shipments. Samsung has been diversifying its business in recent times to move away from reliance on smartphones and focus on high margin areas such as semiconductors and displays.

It is a market leader with OLED displays, and is reportedly supplying Apple's new iPhone 8 anniversary edition. In the first quarter, operating profit from semiconductors accounted for Supply constraints have pushed up memory prices which is benefiting Samsung.

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The mean forecast of operating profit for the year amongst analysts polled by Reuters is Continued strength in semiconductors, OLED Shipments and mobile is likely to help profits.

Samsung officially announced that pre-orders of the Galaxy S8 exceeded those of the S7. According to our research, pre-sales of GS8 units in the U. In display, despite increased costs for the new OLED capacity, OLED will likely drive earnings in 2H Of course, the risk remains that the smartphone market turns and it faces stiff competition from the likes of Apple, which is gearing up to release its next flagship devices.

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Register Log In Profile Email Preferences PRO Sign Out. Tech Mobile Social Media Enterprise Cybersecurity Tech Guide. Samsung shares could see 48 percent upside as profit expected to hit all-time highs in Shares of Samsung Electronics hit a record high on Friday. Analysts are predicting that the stock could see 48 percent upside. Samsung could hit all-time high operating profit this year, according to forecasts.

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A view of the new Samsung Galaxy S8 at its Samsung launch event, March 29, in New York City. As a result, Nomura is not alone in its bullish outlook: On Thursday, Daiwa Capital Markets raised its price target to 2. Macquarie has a price target of 3. HI Investment and Securities expects shares to reach 2.

Arjun Kharpal Technology Correspondent. To view this site, you need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser, and either the Flash Plugin or an HTML5-Video enabled browser.

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