Ashish Kacholia buys 1 mn shares of this auto company; stk up 43% in 2 days

Ace investor Ashish Rameshchandra Kacholia bought 1.03 million shares os Universal Autofoundry on Thursday

Shares of Universal Autofoundry were locked in the 20-per cent upper circuit at Rs 232.05 apiece, also their 52-week high, in an otherwise weak market after ace investor Ashish Kacholia bought over 10 million shares in the company on Thursday.

At 12:50 PM, shares of the auto components and equipment company were frozen at the upper limit as against 0.44 per cent fall in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex. The S&P BSE Auto index, too, was down 0.09 per cent.

In two days, the stock of the company has surged 43.2 per cent, while it has leaped 53 per cent in four days. The Sensex index, meanwhile dipped 0.7 per cent over the past four days.

On Thursday, promoters Amit Gupta, Urmila Gupta, Payal Gupta, and Kishan Lal Gupta sold their entire stakes worth 2.05 million shares via bulk deals.

Among them, Amit Gupta sold 771,456 shares at Rs 160 per share; Urmila Gupta sold 117,250 shares at Rs 193.4 per share; Payal Gupta offleaded 985,000 shares at Rs 160 per share; and Kishan Lal reduced his stake by 177,500 shares at Rs 193.4 per share. 

According to the data provided by the exchanges, ace investor Ashish Rameshchandra Kacholia bought 1.03 million shares at a price of Rs 161.59 per share. He held nil or less than 1 per cent stake at the end of the June quarter. 

Himalaya Finance and Investment Company, a venture capital firm, also bought 1.03 million shares in the company at an average price of Rs 168.49 per share.

Over the past one year, shares of the auto ancillary company have risen 83 per cent at the bourses as against about 10 per cent gain in the benchmark Sensex index. Over the last five years, they have zoomed 326 per cent.

Universal Autofoundry Limited is a global manufacturer and exporter specialising in the production of Grey Iron, Ductile Iron, and SG Iron Casting. Their products cater to various industries, including automobiles, earth movers, agriculture, railways, and international markets.

In the April to June quarter, the company posted net profit of Rs 3.5 crore as against PAT of Rs 3.34 crore last year and Rs 1.5 crore in the March quarter of FY23. Revenue from operations, however, declined to Rs 57.55 crore from Rs 61.17 crore YoY and Rs 60.5 crore QoQ.