Hounded by Short Sellers, $6 Billion Tech Unicorn’s ADRs Implode

Hounded by Short Sellers, $6 Billion Tech Unicorn’s ADRs Implode

It was hailed as the first tech unicorn from the United Arab Emirates in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange and touted as the “Clubhouse of the Middle East.”

But these days, Yalla Group Ltd., a voice-chat startup based out of Dubai, might be earning a less flattering label: stock-market bust.

After a fivefold surge in the months following its initial public offering last year, Yalla — a Chinese-backed social network based in the United Arab Emirates that means “Let’s Go” in Arabic — has given up all its gains and then some. Since peaking at over $40 in February, Yalla has lost more than 80% of its market value. Its American depositary receipts, which debuted at $7.50, are now consistently below $7 and