Dull October listings hit unlisted shares as IPO-bound firms like Oyo, Groww, NSE slump up to 48% in two weeks – what went wrong?

October’s lackluster listings have had an adverse impact on the unlisted shares of several marquee IPO-bound firms. The prices have plunged as much as 48% in just two weeks with Oravel Stays seeing the sharpest fall. Top names like the NSE, Groww, HDFC Securities, Boat and Hero Fincorp have also seen their shares slip up to 7% while others like BigBasket, HDFC Ergo Life Insurance, Hero Motors, and Zepto have hardly budged despite a busy primary market.

While LG Electronics brought some cheers on Tuesday, with a 50% listing pop, two big IPOs in Tata Capital and WeWork Management made an insipid debut on the exchanges.

Tata Capital which was listed at a premium of 1.3% over the issue price of 326 was a big disappointment, notwithstanding the company launching the IPO at a 56% climbdown from the unlisted share price of Rs 785. The stock on Tuesday fell 1.5% from the issue price. Meanwhile, Embassy Group-backed WeWork is now 6% lower over the issue price of Rs 648.

The ordeal for investors doesn’t end here as many others have seen a deeper cut. Om Freight Forwarders, Glottis, BMW Ventures and Gurunanak Agriculture India were listed at discounts of 37%, 35%, 25% and 24%, respectively. Jinkushal Industries and TruAlt Bioenergy have slipped below their issue prices after positive but weak listings.Also read: Nifty’s 382-day itch: Fresh peak remains elusive, but it’s far from index’s longest nap. What’s in store?

Not all duds

Manas Polymers and Energies had a stellar listing pop of 80% though the gains have now reduced to 44% over the issue price as investors have been booking gains. The SME stock closed with 5% cuts on Tuesday.

Sheel Biotech, which made its market debut at 52% premium has narrowed gains to 27%.

Ashish Kacholia-backed Jain Resources and B.A.G. Convergence were listed at a premium of 37% and 21%, respectively and both have managed to hold their gains.

Mukul Agrawal-backed Suba Hotels and Munish Forge were listed with double-digit listing gains and have build-on them so far.

Also Read: Internet stocks shed ‘hype’ tag: Ixigo, CarTrade, Nykaa soar up to 80% in 3-months on earnings revival

Valuation villain

The villain behind the current trends is high valuations for most stocks, three analysts told ETMarkets.

“The subdued performance in the unlisted market stems from an overstretched valuation gap between listed and unlisted peers. Additionally, several companies have priced their IPOs significantly lower than the levels at which their unlisted shares were trading, leading to a sentiment reset and heightened uncertainty in the already illiquid unlisted space, putting pressure around IPO timelines,” Prashanth Tapse, Senior Vice President (Research) at Mehta Equities said, commencing on the current trends.

Apart from high valuations, large OFS components that focus on quick exits rather than growth capital remains a sentiment dampener, Nitant Darekar Research Analyst at Bonanza. He calls this correction a health trend. “Investors should look at unlisted shares more carefully. They need to demand reasonable valuations supported by strong fundamentals instead of relying on momentum-driven pricing. Average IPO performance has usually been modest, and today’s environment requires careful analysis instead of speculative excitement,” Darekar said.

Nilesh Jain, Head Vice President, Equity Research Technical and Derivatives at Centrum Broking also cautions investors while dealing in unlisted shares. “The maximum IPOs came at higher valuation and that is the reason we are seeing a sharp correction there,” he said. LG breaking the trend was owing to decent grey market premium (GMP) and largely favourable view for this IPO, Jain said. The government’s GST boost has only aided to the appeal in the festive season, he remarked. .

(Disclaimer: The recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)