Vedanta share tanks 8% amid profit booking; Q3, demerger keep bulls hopeful

Vedanta share price today: Mining major Vedanta shares corrected sharply on Friday, slipping as much as 8.31 per cent intraday, even as brokerages remained constructive on the metals major’s earnings momentum and medium-term outlook. 

 

The stock fell to an intraday low of ₹702.40 per share before paring some losses. Around 11 AM, Vedanta was trading 6.93 per cent lower at ₹713, underperforming the broader market, with the BSE Sensex down 0.44 per cent at 82,204.17.

 

Market participants attributed the decline largely to profit-booking after a strong recent run-up, amid a cautious mood ahead of the Union Budget 2026. Vedanta has been among the outperformers in the metals space over the past few months, supported by firm commodity prices, improving profitability and expectations around the company’s proposed demerger.

 

“Vedanta has been one of the outperforming stocks in the recent past, even as markets remain in a consolidation phase ahead of the Union Budget 2026. Despite strong earnings across companies, some profit-booking is visible ahead of the event,” said Kranthi Bathini, director of equity strategy at WealthMills Securities. He added that “for investors with a long-term horizon, the stock can be held and even accumulated, given the strong rally we are witnessing in the metals space.”

Technical view: Support key in near term

 

From a technical perspective, analysts see the current move as a healthy pullback rather than a trend reversal. Ravi Singh, chief research officer at Master Capital Services, said the stock “has seen a sharp pullback after a strong uptrend, indicating short-term profit booking near higher levels.” However, he noted that “despite the recent decline, the broader structure remains positive as long as the stock holds above the ₹660-680 support zone.”

 

According to Singh, “a sustained move back above ₹740 could revive upside toward recent highs, while weakness below support may trigger further correction.” He added that “overall bias remains cautiously positive with volatility,” suggesting consolidation in the near term.  ALSO READ | Paytm shares slip 5% after posting Q3 results; here's what analysts suggest

Brokerages upbeat after strong Q3 show

 

The pullback comes despite a strong operational and financial performance in the December quarter (Q3FY26), which has led brokerages to raise estimates and target prices. Emkay Global Financial Services described the quarter as a “strong quarter; demerger completion in sight.”

 

Vedanta reported Q3FY26 Ebitda of ₹15,170 crore, up 30.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter (Q-o-Q), driven by higher aluminium and zinc profitability, which together contributed 86 per cent of Ebitda. Emkay said the performance was “+1.5 per cent vs Emkay; +5.7 per cent vs consensus.”

 

The brokerage highlighted that management reiterated the demerger timeline, with April 1, 2026, as the effective date, and outlined deleveraging plans of ₹3,000 crore from the Hindustan Zinc offer-for-sale and $0.8-1 billion at the group level in FY26. It also flagged the reaffirmed project timelines, including Kuraloi coal in Q4FY26 and Sijimali bauxite in Q1FY27, along with guidance for an additional 3 per cent dividend yield in Q4 (₹20-25 per share).

 

“We continue to believe that if there was ever a better time in the past decade to own exposure to industrial metals, it is now,” Emkay said. It reiterated a bullish stance on the stock, upgraded Ebitda estimates for FY27 and FY28, and raised its target price by about 21 per cent to ₹850 from ₹700, shifting to a demerger-based sum-of-the-parts (SoTP) valuation. The brokerage has a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock.  ALSO READ | South Indian Bank shares crack 19% as CEO declines reappointment

Motilal Oswal sees strong earnings

 

Motilal Oswal Financial Services, while acknowledging the robust performance, maintained a more measured view. The brokerage said Vedanta’s “in-line earnings [were] supported by favourable prices and better volume; strong near-term outlook.” Consolidated revenue rose 19 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹46,700 crore in Q3FY26, while Ebitda jumped 37 per cent Y-o-Y to ₹15,200 crore, with margins expanding to 32.5 per cent.

 

Motilal Oswal also pointed to improved balance sheet metrics, with net debt at ₹60,600 crore and net debt-to-Ebitda at 1.23 times as of December 2025. While it raised its earnings estimates and acknowledged progress on capex and deleveraging, the brokerage reiterated its ‘Neutral’ rating, assigning a sum-of-the-parts-based target price of ₹810.

 

That said, while near-term volatility and profit-taking may persist, analysts remain divided only on valuations, not on Vedanta’s operating strength. For long-term investors, the focus remains on sustained cash flows, the demerger roadmap and the trajectory of global metal prices.   

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