SK Hynix ADRs hit new low after record $26.5B Nasdaq debut

SK Hynix pulled off something remarkable on July 10: a $26.5 billion Nasdaq listing that became the largest foreign equity ADR sale in US history. The market loved it, then immediately started second-guessing itself. The ADRs, trading under the ticker SKHY, priced at $149, opened around $170, and closed their debut session near $168. That’s a 13% pop on day one. What happened next was less festive. The hangover arrives on schedule Seoul-listed shares fell 15.4% on July 13, three days after the Nasdaq debut. The ADRs followed, dropping roughly 9% in follow-on sessions and trading back near the original offering price. Investors who bought at the $170 open are underwater. Investors who got the IPO allocation at $149 are roughly back where they started. The book was more than 7 times oversubscribed. When demand outpaces supply by that margin, a lot of capital is competing for a relatively small float. Once trading opens and those early allocations start changing hands, the price tends to find its actual clearing level rather than the euphoria-inflated one. Each ADR represents one-tenth of a common SK Hynix share, and new underlying shares are scheduled to begin trading on the Korean S...