ICICI Pru Life market cap crosses Rs 1-trillion as stock hits new high

ICICI Pru became the third insurance company to cross Rs 1 trillion market cap after HDFC Life and SBI Life.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance (ICICI Pru) has joined the elite club of companies with Rs 1 trillion market capitalisation (market-cap) on the BSE on Friday, after its share price hit a new high of Rs 708.20, rallying 5 per cent in intra-day trades. The earlier life-time high for the life insurance stock was Rs 694.30 registered on August 18, 2021.

ICICI Pru became the third insurance company to cross Rs 1 trillion market cap. HDFC Life Insurance is on top of the list with Rs 1.49 trillion market cap, while SBI Life Insurance has a market cap of Rs 1.23 trillion.

The market cap of ICICI Pru touched Rs 1.02 trillion in intra-day trades. At 11:22 am, the stock was up 2.6 per cent at Rs 692.30, with the market cap of Rs 99,466 crore, as per BSE data. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.01 per cent at 57,857.

In past one month, the stock has appreciated by 6.5 per cent, as compared to 9 per cent rise recorded by its peers SBI Life and HDFC Life. The benchmark index Sensex has gained 7.5 per cent during the same period.

ICICI Prudential Life is promoted by ICICI Bank and Prudential Corporation Holdings. The company has consistently been amongst the top private sector life insurance companies in India on a Retail Weighted Received Premium (RWRP) basis. On June 30, 2021 ICICI Pru had Asset Under Management (AUM) of Rs 2,231.71 billion and a Total Sum Assured of Rs 20.87 trillion.

Meanwhile, analysts at Emkay Global Financial Services believe that overall insurance penetration in India is likely to rise after Covid-19 as both individual and corporate customers will be more cautious about these kinds of catastrophic events. The brokerage firm has upgraded ICICI Pru to 'Buy' from 'Hold' with a target price of Rs 750, factoring in superior VNB growth (29.4 per cent yoy) and an improving product mix (protection share at 22 per cent). “Our concerns about margins have subsided as there was a shift in product mix, aided by a diversified distribution mix, which should support the margin profile in the coming quarters,” the brokerage firm said in Q1FY22 result update.