Cipla Seeks Sebi Probe Into Stock Price Spurt

With the Cipla stock moving up sharply in recent weeks, the company has written a letter to the Sebi yesterday to investigate into the sudden spurt in the price of the stock. The stock has shot up from Rs 631.25 on April 30 to Rs 813.50 yesterday on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The market is agog with rumours of a bonus issue from the company, which has fueled speculative trading in the stock. But company officials denied having anything to do with the spurt in the share price. Said a senior official: We have taken up the matter with Sebi regarding the sudden rise in the price. We informed the regulatory authority that there are unfounded rumours in the market and requested them to take appropriate steps in the interest of the shareholder. The company management has got nothing to do with the spurt in price.

Trading in Cipla has also risen several-fold in recent weeks, from an average of 3,000-5,000 shares a day to 30,970 shares in a single trading session yesterday on the BSE.

The stock opened on the BSE at Rs 767 and touched a 52-week high of Rs 813.75. The stock price also touched its 52-week high of Rs 739.85 before closing at Rs 739.10, against the previous close of Rs 738.25.

Cipla sources attributed the rise in trading to the increased interest among FIIs.