Bajaj Housing Finance Ltd. shares plunged in trade on Thursday after the second lock-in period for housing finance ended on Dec. 11, triggering anchor institutions to offload their stake.
The Bajaj Finance subsidiary had raised Rs 1,757 crore by allocating 25.11 crore shares to high-profile anchor investors. Capital Group Global Equity Fund (Canada) and ICICI Prudential Banking and Financial Services were among the institutions that bagged the highest allotment.
As these institutions offload their holding, approximately 12.5 crore shares, representing about 1.51% of Bajaj Housing Finance’s outstanding equity, became eligible for trading.
The first lock-in period for these investment institutions ended on Oct. 14 and sent the stock down by over 4%. After the second lock-in ends, all the outstanding shares of Bajaj Housing Finance will be eligible for trading.
The company made its stock market debut on Sept. 16, after the fourth largest IPO this year.
Bajaj Housing Finance Logs Fourth Worst Session
Bajaj Housing stock fell as much as 6.08% during the day to Rs 132.8 apiece on the NSE. It was trading 5.15% lower at Rs 134.1 apiece, compared to a 0.09% advance in the benchmark Nifty 50 as of 09:33 a.m.
The stock has been on an upward trajectory since its low of Rs 125.3 on Nov. 22. The momentum switch in the short term happened in the first week of December and the counter currently tests the support zone of Rs 134.5 to Rs 133.8 mark. A decisive close below this range could send the stock further down in the short term.
The immediate resistance for the stock will be in the Rs 136 level and any close above that could send the counter up to Wednesday’s high. The plunge in session today sent the stock below its 14-day simple moving average and the 21-day exponential moving average.
The stock has fallen 18.7% since its listing although it made a remarkable 135% jump on its first trading day from its issue price, marking good gains for anchor investors. The total traded volume so far in the day stood at 5.7 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 45.
Two out of the six analysts tracking the company have a ‘buy’ rating on the stock, one suggests a ‘hold’ and three has a ‘sell’, according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month analyst price targets implies a potential downside of 8.2%.
Bajaj Housing Finance Q2 Performance
Bajaj Housing Finance posted a 26% year-on-year jump in its net profit for the quarter ended September. The property loan-issuer’s net profit stood at Rs 546 crore during the second quarter as compared to Rs 451 crore in the year-ago period.
The net interest income, which is the difference between interest earned and interest paid, grew 13% to Rs 713 crore. The NII stood at Rs 632 crore in the same quarter last year.
The company’s asset quality slipped in the September quarter. The gross non-performing assets ratio widened to 0.29% as compared to 0.24% in the year-ago period. In the same period, the net NPA ratio expanded to 0.12% from 0.09%.
. Read more on Markets by NDTV Profit.Bajaj Housing stock fell as much as 6.08% during the day to Rs 132.8 apiece on the NSE logging its fourth worst session since debut. Read MoreMarkets, Buzzing Stocks, Notifications, Business
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