Street signs: Share sale overhang on L&T, Relaxo Footwear stock, and more

More companies hit 52-week high 

Equity markets have witnessed a sharp improvement in investor sentiment. Last week, over two dozen companies in the top 500 universe hit fresh one-year highs, up from just 10 companies in the preceding week. The list of 25 companies that hit 52-week highs, was dominated by mid-cap pharma and financial stocks. Besides the list had some public sector names like Allahabad Bank, REC and Power Finance Corporation. Experts say institutional investors, including overseas ones, are lapping up shares of good quality mid-cap companies with high growth potential.

Samie Modak

Share sale overhang on L&T

Market players are expecting shares of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) to remain under pressure in the coming weeks due to share-sale overhang. According to reports, the Centre is planning to offload its entire 1.8 per cent stake, valued at Rs 3,300 crore, in the engineering and construction giant as part of its Rs 80,000-crore disinvestment programme for 2018-19. The stake is held under the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (Suuti), which also has holdings in Axis Bank and ITC. While the Nifty is up 2.5 per cent in 2019, shares of L&T are down 5.1 per cent.

Sundar Sethuram

Relaxo back on investors' radar

Investors are seeing the recent correction in Relaxo Footwear as an opportunity to take positions in the stock. The scrip had corrected around 10 per cent in the last six months and its December quarter performance, too, was disappointing with the lowest operating margin in last three fiscals. However, brokerage houses are bullish on future growth and say premium valuations are justified. Last week, SBI Mutual Fund bought Rs 266 crore of Relaxo Footwear shares, bulk deal data showed at a price of Rs 715 per share. Analysts expect its earnings to compound at 20 per cent between FY18-FY21 as demand continues to shift towards branded and premium products.

Jash Kriplani