SK Hynix (SKHY) Stock Drops 15% After Record-Breaking Nasdaq Debut — Here’s Why

TLDR

• SK Hynix fell over 15% on South Korea’s Kospi on Monday, its biggest one-day drop on record
• The selloff came after the AI memory chipmaker raised $26.5 billion in its Nasdaq debut last week — the largest-ever U.S. listing by a foreign company
• SK Hynix ADRs (SKHY) opened at $170, well above the $149 IPO price, and closed up nearly 13% on debut
• The Kospi index dropped 9%, triggering a 20-minute trading halt, while European and U.S. chip stocks also fell
• Analysts say the drop is likely profit-taking and expect the stock to recover over the next 6–12 months

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SK Hynix’s (SKHY) South Korean-listed stock plunged more than 15% on Monday, marking the company’s worst single-day loss on record.

SK hynix Inc., SKHYV

The drop came just days after the AI memory chipmaker pulled off the largest U.S. listing ever by a foreign company, raising $26.5 billion through an oversubscribed ADR offering priced at $149.

The ADRs opened at $170 on Friday, July 10, and closed up nearly 13% — a strong debut by any measure. When Seoul markets reopened Monday, investors moved quickly to lock in profits.

The selloff hit the broader South Korean market hard. The Kospi index dropped 9%, severe enough to trigger a 20-minute trading halt. Samsung Electronics was also caught in the downdraft.

SK Hynix’s Korean-listed stock had already tripled in value this year before the Nasdaq listing, gaining over 170% year-to-date. That kind of run tends to attract profit-takers at the first sign of a pause.

Daniel Yoo, global strategist at Yuanta Securities, said investors are still working out the right valuation for SK Hynix. He pointed out that the U.S.-listed ADRs are trading at a higher valuation than the South Korean shares, leaving the market to find a fair price between the two.

Yoo also noted the ADR offering added more supply to the market, which put extra pressure on the stock. He still expects a recovery over the next six to 12 months.

Chip Stocks Feel the Ripple

The selloff didn’t stay in Seoul. European chip stocks opened lower, with ASML, ASMI and Besi each falling between 1% and 2%. STMicroelectronics dropped roughly 1% in France, and Infineon fell 2% in Germany.

U.S. chip stocks pointed lower in premarket trading. Western Digital and Micron dropped 6.5% and 5.4%, respectively, while SanDisk fell nearly 7%. Seagate lost 5%, and both AMD and Intel declined close to 3%.

Lorraine Tan, a director at Morningstar, said the memory upcycle is tracking stronger than expected, but the base case still calls for a normalisation of cycle dynamics — which limits upside at current prices.

Phillip Wool, chief research officer at Rayliant Global Advisors, said the weakness in Asian AI chip stocks was mostly down to portfolio rebalancing after large gains. He believes ongoing AI investment should continue to support memory chipmakers.

Valuation Questions Remain

SK Hynix has been one of the most volatile stocks in the chip space this year. Heavy use of leveraged ETFs has amplified both the gains and the losses.

The Nasdaq listing has given global investors a new way to access the stock — but it’s also opened up direct valuation comparisons between the two listings, adding another layer of uncertainty.

Among U.S.-listed memory stocks, Micron currently holds the highest analyst upside at 60%, with a Strong Buy rating, according to TipRanks data. SK Hynix’s ADRs do not yet carry analyst ratings.