Indian bank stocks among most-tracked globally, Alibaba tops list

Domestic banks feature in the list of corporations that are tracked by maximum number of analysts globally. 

Topping the chart is Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, tracked by 64 analysts. Private sector lenders Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, and ICICI Bank are among the top six most-tracked, with at least 56 analysts giving their views on their stocks.  

Social media company Tencent is another Chinese firm in the list, while Amazon and Facebook are the only US-based companies among the top 10. Market experts said given the banking sector’s dominance in the Indian markets, it is not surprising that they are widely followed by analysts. 

Because of this year’s underper­formance, the financial sector’s weighting in the Nifty has come down from near 40 per cent levels. It still remains the sector with the highest weighting. Also, some lenders, including HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, are listed in the US as well, which too, boost their analyst coverage. 

Other factors that influence analyst coverage include market capitalisation, corporate governance, and listing jurisdiction. Maruti Suzuki is the 11th most-tracked firm. 

The stock is widely tracked by Japanese analysts as its performance has significant bearing on Tokyo-listed Suzuki Motor.