How to Short SK Hynix Stock with an Inverse ETF

As the undisputed global leader in High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM), SK Hynix has been a major beneficiary of the global AI infrastructure boom. Over the last three years, its stock price has risen spectacularly¹.

Recently, however, the stock has experienced some weakness amid growing skepticism in relation to the sustainability of the company’s prolific revenue growth. As a result, many traders are looking for ways to take a short position on the South Korean memory stock.

How to Short SK Hynix

With SK Hynix now trading on the Nasdaq via ADRs, taking a short position on the memory stock is far easier than it was in the past. One straightforward way to go short is via an inverse ETF such as the Leverage Shares 1x Short SK Hynix Daily ETF (SKHZ).

This is an inverse ETF that aims to provide -100% (-1x) the daily performance of SK Hynix (SKHY), minus fees and expenses (the ETF’s expense ratio is 0.75%). It allows sophisticated investors and active traders to bet against SK Hynix stock via a regulated, liquid ETF structure listed on Cboe without the operational burden of a short-selling account.

The way this ETF is designed, investors generate a gain if SK Hynix stock falls in a trading session. For example, if the stock falls 5% in a trading session, the ETF should rise in value by approximately 5%.

It’s important to note that the ETF is a daily ETF. This means that its performance is only designed to match the inverse performance of SK Hynix stock for a single trading day and that performance resets at the end of every trading session.

Daily Inverse ETFs Versus Traditional Short Selling

One advantage of using inverse ETFs to take a short position on a stock is that losses are limited to the value of the investment. With traditional short selling strategies, losses are theoretically infinite.

Another advantage is there is no risk of a broker issuing a margin call, forcing a buy-to-cover, or charging share-borrow fees. This provides a defined risk structure for expressing a bearish view.

On the downside, with daily short ETFs, performance is typically decoupled from the underlying stock’s performance when products are held for more than one day. This is because the product resets performance at the end of every trading session.

For example, if you buy an inverse daily ETF and hold it for three days, you do not own a standard three-day short position. Instead, you essentially own three separate one-day short positions chained together.

With daily short ETFs, there is also more pressure to get the timing of the trade right. Because if the underlying stock spikes against you, the ETF locks in that loss at the end of the trading session.

By contrast, with a traditional short position, you can be wrong today, but right over a longer period if the stock eventually moves your way. So, there is less timing pressure.

An Effective Tool for Short-Term Bearish Views

Given the way that these short products work, they are not for everyone. However, for those looking to express short-term bearish views on specific stocks such as SK Hynix, and who are comfortable with the risks, they can be an effective way to establish a short position.

Footnotes:

¹Google Finance, as of July 14, 2026