Bajaj Auto on a roll, stock hits new high

Bajaj Auto is trading higher by 2.5% to Rs 2,275 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in otherwise subdued market. The stock opened at Rs 2,224 and touched high of Rs 2,295, also its record high on BSE.

A combined 121,000 shares have already changed hands on the counter in first half-an-hour of trading compared to an average sub 300,000 shares that were traded daily in past two weeks on BSE and NSE.

Bajaj Auto, the country's second largest motorcycle maker, is scheduled to declare its first quarter financial results on July 17, 2014.

The board of directors of the company will meet on July 17, 2014, to consider the unaudited financial results for the first quarter ending June 30, 2014 (Q1), the company said in a regulatory filing.

Meanwhile, the stock has outperformed the market by surging 23% from Rs 1,871 on May 20, after Egypt lifted a three-month ban on import of two wheelers and three wheelers. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex and auto sector index S&P BSE Auto have gained 4% and 6% respectively during the period.

Arun Agarwal, an analyst at Kotak Securities rates the stock as ‘accumulate’ with revise target price of Rs 2,361. Lifting a ban from Egypt is expected to provide additional boost to exports volumes in the coming months. Due to ban in place, Bajaj Auto did not export for nearly 3 months to Egypt – a key market for them, the analyst says in a report dated June 23, 2014.

On a monthly basis, Bajaj Auto exports around 6,000 three wheelers and around 4,000 motorcycles to Egypt.