SK Hynix shares went down more than 15% in Seoul on Monday after the chipmaker’s strong Nasdaq debut. According to CNBC, this decline reflects profit-taking and uncertainty over how the U.S.-listed shares should be valued relative to the Korean stock. Analysts say that the ADR debut has effectively created a new benchmark for investors to assess the company’s valuation.
According to data from the LSEG, shares of the chip giant closed 15.4% lower on Monday, posting the largest fall in history.
“Everybody’s really confused about what’s going to happen to the memory demand and where the fair price is,” Daniel Yoo, global strategist at Yuanta Securities, said on “Squawk Box Asia.”
“It’s all about how much demand is there versus how much supply is going to come in … [and] what kind of multiple you will be getting.”
READ: SK Hynix launches $28 billion share sale to capitalize on AI surge (July 6, 2026)
SK Hynix had jumped 13% in its Wall Street debut on Friday, showing a strong investor interest for AI-linked semiconductor stocks.
Yoo also pointed out Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s U.S.-listed ADRs trade at a roughly 13% to 14% premium to its domestic shares.
Last week, SK Hynix had launched a U.S. share sale aimed at raising 43 trillion won ($28.07 billion) as it seeks to capitalize on strong investor interest in artificial intelligence. The company has also received indications of interest totaling up to $7 billion from major investors.
Phillip Wool, chief research officer at Rayliant Global Advisors, also downplayed the recent weakness in Asian AI hardware companies. He described it as a portfolio rebalancing exercise rather than a deterioration in the industry’s outlook.
“I think it’s mostly risk management,” Wool said, noting that many investors had accumulated outsized positions in South Korean and Taiwanese AI chipmakers after their strong gains. “Prudent risk management suggests you have to scale those back.”
READ: Samsung, SK Hynix plan $518 billion chipmaking expansion (June 29, 2026)
Last month, SK Hynix and Samsung revealed they are building two new chip factories. The project is part of a national program worth the equivalent of over $518 billion. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung presented the plans as a necessary step to secure the country’s technological lead.
According to him, countries that master the AI technology of the future will also set the tone economically and strategically, and so the government wants to accelerate the expansion of production capacity for advanced chips. It also aims to significantly strengthen the national AI infrastructure.
Earlier this month, SK Hynix crossed the $1 trillion market capitalization mark for the first time.