Shares of SK Hynix Inc. fell by as much as 8.2% in trading on the Korea Exchange, following a 13% gain for its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on their first day of trading this past Friday.
Analysts at Korea Investment & Securities forecast that the company's second-quarter operating profit could fall approximately 8% below market expectations. This is attributed to its higher revenue exposure to High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) compared to peers, which is seen as limiting potential increases in average selling prices.
Jason Minsang Kam, head of active equity management at Kyobo Life Insurance in Seoul, commented on the typical valuation gap between local shares and ADRs for global giants. "Historically, there has been a structural valuation gap of around 15% between local stocks and ADRs for large global companies like TSMC, due to factors such as foreign exchange and regulatory friction," he stated.
Kam further suggested that the stock could face significant intraday profit-taking and arbitrage unwinding, potentially closing with a long upper shadow, as the initial momentum from the New York listing has already been absorbed by the market.
He also noted the company's long-term strategy. "SK Hynix's vision of transforming memory into a 'customized solution service' through HBM is a solid long-term narrative. However, as warned by Morgan Stanley and other major investment banks, memory remains a cyclical commodity at its core. The 'service provider' premium tends to exist only during periods of supply shortage."
Data indicates that the company's ADRs closed on Friday at a premium of roughly 15% compared to its shares traded in South Korea.