Aarti Drugs extends rally on share buyback proposal; hits 52-week high

Shares of Aarti Drugs hit a 52-week high of Rs 705, up 5 per cent, on the BSE in intra-day trade on Monday after the company said its board will meet on Friday, March 15 to consider a share buyback proposal.

“The meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled to be held on Friday, 15th March, 2019, to consider proposal of buyback of the fully paid-up equity shares of the company including matters related/incidental thereto,” Aarti Drugs said in a regulatory filing.

The pharmaceutical company's stock has rallied 20 per cent in the past four trading days, as compared to 2 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

The primary objective of a share buyback programme is to arrest the fall in the value of a stock by reducing the supply of the stock, which essentially pushes up the share price through a better P/E multiple.

In the past one year, Aarti Drugs has underperformed the market by falling 1 per cent, as compared to 8 per cent rise in the benchmark index till Tuesday, March 5, 2019.

As of December 31, 2018, the promoters held 62.30 per cent stake in the company. Individual public shareholders hold 28.55 per cent stake, followed by mutual funds (4.03%), while the remaining 5 per cent stake is help by others.

At 11:13 am, the stock was up 4.5 per cent at Rs 701 on the BSE. A combined 69,505 equity shares changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE so far.