The Zhitong Finance App learned that Morgan Stanley released a research report stating that it “increased” the rating to ASMPT (00522) and raised its 2026 earnings forecast per share. It is expected that as the serviceable market for hot pressure welding expands in 2026 and beyond, the stock will be further evaluated. Assuming that ASMPT is the leader in the TCB industry, the target price was raised from HK$108 to HK$123.

According to the report, it is reported that the International Semiconductor Standards Organization (JEDEC) recently agreed to set the standard for HBM4 products at 775 microns, compared to the current high bandwidth memory (HBM) technology at 775 microns. Memory chip manufacturers have been developing hybrid bonding (HB) for 16 layers of HBM, assuming that the height of future HBM will be fixed below 720 microns, which can reduce the space between memory layers.

The bank believes that the height of HBM4 products may increase the chances of 16-layer HBMs using hot pressure welding (TCB). It has also been revealed that its hot pressure welding can also support future 16-layer HBM. In fact, hot pressure welding may be more cost competitive compared to hybrid bonding. If the height of HBM4 is relaxed and hot pressure welding is used in the 16-layer HBM, it indicates that the serviceable market for hot pressure welding is larger and may become an upward risk for ASMPT in 2026 and beyond.