Easy Trip gains 10% on debut; analysts say HNIs made losses on IPO

Shares of Easy Trip Planners ended 10 per cent above its initial public offering (IPO) price on Friday. The stock ended at Rs 206.5, up Rs 19.5 or 10.4 per cent, over the issue price of Rs 187. It touched a high of Rs 234 and a low of Rs 187 on the NSE, where nearly Rs 900 crore worth of shares traded.

The listing was muted compared to the oversubscription seen during the IPO. The online travel firm’s Rs 510-crore issue was subscribed 159 times (anchor portion excluded).

Market players said high networth individuals (HNIs) incurred losses on the issue. The HNI portion of the IPO was subscribed 70 times. Investors in this category borrow money from banks or NBFCs to apply in an IPO. This pushed up their break even cost. The strategy still works if the listing gains are stellar—as seen in some of the recent IPOs such as that of Mtar Tech.

In case of Easy Trip, the break-even cost for HNIs worked out to Rs 280 per share. As a result, those investors that placed leveraged bets lost about Rs73 on every share allotted to them.

Easy Trip’s IPO was an entirely secondary share sale by promoters. At Friday’s close, the company was valued at Rs 2,244 crore. The company’s website, easemytrip.com, offers airline tickets, hotel bookings and holiday packages.