SK Hynix shares have fallen below their initial public offering price for the first time since listing on the NASDAQ, as the artificial intelligence rally that powered the stock loses steam. The South Korean memory chipmaker’s American depositary receipts closed at $143.02 on July 27, down 7.47% from the previous session, and traded as low as $139.01 during the day.
The stock opened at $170 on its first trading day and hit an intraday high of $194.80 shortly after the $26.5 billion IPO — the second-largest US share sale after SpaceX. But the early gains have evaporated amid broader selling pressure in semiconductor stocks and growing investor skepticism about AI infrastructure spending.
IPO Gains Fade Within Weeks
SK Hynix raised about $26.5 billion by selling 177.9 million depositary shares, each representing one-tenth of a common share. Strong institutional demand drove the offering, but the rally quickly reversed. Monday’s close placed the shares 4% below the $149 IPO price and about 27% below the July 14 peak. Trading volume exceeded 50 million shares as selling accelerated.
The decline comes just ahead of SK Hynix’s earnings report on Wednesday, where investors will scrutinize demand for high-bandwidth memory, production plans, and capital expenditure levels. The company supplies advanced memory products used with NVIDIA processors in AI servers.
Semiconductor Stocks Face Broad Selling
Pressure extended across the semiconductor market. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 2.2% on Monday, closing at its lowest level since May 19. The index has dropped more than 20% during July after strong gains earlier in the year. NVIDIA, Micron, and other chip companies also declined as investors questioned the pace of AI infrastructure spending.
Concerns around ‘circular financing’ resurfaced after several large technology agreements involved funding, loan support, and equipment purchases among connected companies. Meanwhile, Chinese memory producer ChangXin Memory Technologies surged 466% during its Shanghai debut, drawing attention to rising competition in the memory market. Reports of new Chinese chipmaking equipment added pressure across Asian and US semiconductor shares.
Major US Listings Lose Early Support
SK Hynix joins SpaceX among large US listings trading below their offering prices. SpaceX closed at $113.50 on Monday, compared with its $135 IPO price, after climbing above $225 shortly after its June listing. Other recently listed companies, including gas engine maker Innio, have also lost early gains, raising closer scrutiny of pricing across major technology offerings.
SK Hynix’s decline came despite a new partnership between NVIDIA and SK Group, which announced a planned investment exceeding $500 billion across AI data centers and next-generation memory. SK Telecom plans to develop an AI facility with capacity of up to two gigawatts. The project could support long-term demand for SK Hynix memory products, but markets are assessing whether planned spending will match future demand.
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