Short sellers target SK Hynix U.S. shares after debut

Short sellers have moved quickly against SK Hynix’s newly listed U.S. shares, adding bearish positions only weeks after the South Korean chip maker’s American market debut. According to S3 Partners, about 23 million American depositary receipts are now sold short, or nearly 13% of the roughly 178 million shares in the public float. That is higher than the exchangereported level of about 15 million shares in midJuly. The rise in short interest comes as semiconductor stocks remain volatile. SK Hynix ADRs have fallen about 13% from their $149 offering price since the July 10 debut and are down roughly 33% from their postlisting peak. The stock also dropped after the company reported strong secondquarter results, which still fell short of high market expectations tied to artificial intelligence spending. Some of the short positions may reflect arbitrage rather than a direct bet against the company, since investors can short the ADRs while holding the underlying shares in Seoul.