SK Hynix Surges 17% In Record-Setting U.S. Debut: Here's What Regular Investors Should Know

SK Hynix Surges 17% In Record-Setting U.S. Debut: Here's What Regular Investors Should Know

South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix surged in its Nasdaq debut on Friday, after completing the largest U.S. share sale ever by a foreign company and becoming the third-largest debut on record following SpaceX’s record-setting listing last month.

SK Hynix jumped 17% to around $174.50 after its Nasdaq listing opened shortly after 11:30 a.m. EST, after earlier reports indicated the company would trade as much as 21% above its offering price. SK Hynix disclosed in a filing Thursday it would issue 177.9 million American depository receipts (ADRs), or certificates representing ownership of shares in a foreign company, priced at $149 each under the ticker “SKHYV.” One common share will be represented by 10 ADRs, priced at $1,490—and that’s slightly higher than the company’s Seoul-based listing, which ended Friday at about $1,450.

SK Hynix raised $26.51 billion through its ADR offering, the company disclosed, making it the largest U.S. share sale ever by a foreign company and the third-largest ever, trailing Saudi Aramco’s $29.4 billion in 2019 and SpaceX’s $85.7 billion. The funds raised will go toward expanding SK Hynix’s chipmaking facilities and purchasing advanced equipment, the company disclosed. Investors sought more than seven times the available number of shares in SK Hynix’s U.S. offering, Reuters reported.

Option trading for SK Hynix is expected to start two business days after its U.S. debut, allowing investors to bet against the stock, Reuters reported , citing two sources familiar with the matter. Similar trading opened for SpaceX shortly ...