SK Hynix plunges after Nasdaq debut as memory chip euphoria cools
SK Hynix Shares Tumble Amid Market Volatility and Memory Chip Uncertainty
By Heekyong Yang, Gregor Stuart Hunter and Shashwat Chauhan
Record Drop in SK Hynix Shares Following Nasdaq Debut
July 13 (Reuters) - SK Hynix's Seoul shares posted their biggest one-day fall in nearly two decades on Monday, tumbling more than 15%, as investors unwound gains from a scorching rally following the company's Nasdaq debut last week.
The company's U.S.-listed shares dropped 7.9% to $154.7 in early trading after jumping more than 12% in their Nasdaq debut on Friday.
The declines in SK Hynix's shares, alongside those of rival chipmaker Samsung Electronics, contributed to a 9% plunge in South Korea's Kospi, triggering a 20-minute trading halt.
Impact on Global Semiconductor Stocks
Shares of U.S. rivals also dropped. Micron Technology fell 6.4%, SanDisk 8.4% and Western Digital 6.8%. The broader Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index lost 3.6%.
Korean Government Response and Market Reactions
Korean stocks extended losses after trading resumed after President Lee Jae Myung on Monday reiterated that the government would help speed up projects to build chip fabs in investments worth hundreds of billions of dollars, as outlined by Samsung and SK Hynix.
SK Hynix's Nasdaq Debut and Market Sentiment
The world's leading AI memory chipmaker, SK Hynix, raised over $26 billion last week selling American Depositary Receipts priced at $149 each, after its Korean shares more than tripled this year. The ADRs opened 14% above the offer price at $170 before ending their first trading day at $168.
Analyst Perspectives on Memory Chip Demand
"We've had such a run up in (memory chip) stocks that there's obviously a component of profit taking but I don't think it's the end of the run," said Phil Blancato, president and CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management.
"The demand cycle is still very strong and I don't think we're at the end of it yet. You're looking at demand for multiple companies out into late 2027, into early 2028."
Supply Outlook and Investment Uncertainty
Analysts have said the large-scale investments in Korea had heightened uncertainty over the supply outlook and fuelled concerns that the current period of tight supply could eventually give way to an oversupply cycle.
"Our base case here is the fresh capacity in 2027 and 2028 coming up in earnest will improve supply dynamics, thereby leading to price erosion," said Jing Jie Yu, an equity analyst at Morningstar.
SK Hynix CEO's View on Capacity Expansion
SK Hynix Chief Executive Kwak Noh-jung dismissed concerns about aggressive capacity expansion, telling Reuters that the memory industry is heading for its most severe supply shortage in 2027, forecasting that demand will continue to exceed the company's ability to produce memory chips well into the next decade.
Challenges Facing Chip Stocks and AI Boom
Chip stocks have had a rough start to the month of July, as investors wrestle with high valuations and question the longevity of the AI capex boom.
"Despite accelerating artificial intelligence adoption, monetisation remains uncertain and profitability for key players, such as OpenAI, appears to be under pressure," said Lorraine Tan, director at Morningstar.
"Funding is also shifting toward debt or equity, raising concerns about the maintainability of current spending levels."
SK Hynix ADR Premium Versus Local Shares
SK HYNIX ADR PREMIUM VERSUS LOCAL SHARES
Volatility Driven by Global Investor Activity
Volatility in SK Hynix shares has surged this year as it has become a target of global investors betting on a sustained boost to profits from a shortage of high-bandwidth memory chips used in AI data centres, with many investors using leveraged exchange-traded funds that have amplified returns and losses.
In Hong Kong, a single-stock ETF tracking SK Hynix offered by fund manager CSOP, which uses leverage to target twice the daily returns of its shares, lost more than a third of its value on Monday, its biggest one-day decline since listing in October.
ADRs Trading at a Premium
After the rout in the Seoul market on Monday, SK Hynix's U.S. ADRs, which represent one-tenth of a share and were last at $154.70 on Monday, were trading at a premium of about 25.6% to the South Korean share price.
"It's typical for ADRs to trade at a premium because they give U.S. investors direct access to the stock for the first time," said Nic Puckrin, cross-asset analyst and founder of Coin Bureau.
"Though some investors have been taking advantage of the arbitrage opportunity, these trades tend to get crowded and the price eventually evens out, so the premium likely won't hold forever."
Profit Taking and Earnings Expectations
Ryu Young-ho, a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities, said investors were profit-taking after the conclusion of the U.S. listing, while sentiment also suffered from caution with regard to SK Hynix's second-quarter earnings.
He said investors had expected shipments of SK Hynix's HBM4 chips to increase from the second quarter, but that the increase does not appear to have materialised at scale.
Ryu also said investors had moderated earnings expectations because SK Hynix, with its greater exposure to the HBM market than crosstown rival Samsung, was set to benefit less from a recent rise in prices for conventional DRAM chips.
Market Share and Use of HBM Chips
SK Hynix led the market for high-bandwidth memory chips with a 58% revenue share in the first quarter, whereas Samsung and U.S. competitor Micron Technology each held 21%, Counterpoint Research data showed.
HBM chips are primarily used in artificial intelligence systems for customers such as Nvidia and Alphabet's Google.
(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Gregor Stuart Hunter, Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin, Ankur Banerjee and Shashwat Chauhan; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Christopher Cushing, Michael Perry, Thomas Derpinghaus and Shinjini Ganguli)