Ion Exchange slips 4% as Rakesh Jhunjhunwala sells stake in firm

Shares of Ion Exchange snapped four-day winning run and slipped 4 per cent in intra-day trade on Wednesday after the bulk deal data available on BSE showed that ace investor Rakesh Radheyshyam Jhunjhunwala and his firm Rare Investments offloaded stake worth Rs 65 crore in the company on Tuesday. 

As per bulk deal data on BSE, Jhunjhunwala sold a little over 1.5 lakh shares at Rs 1,205.19 apiece, valuing the deal at Rs 18.17 crore. Rare Investments offloaded 3.87 lakh scrips at a price of Rs 1,205.42 apiece, taking the total deal value to Rs 46.73 crore.

Through a separate transaction, Plutus Wealth Management LLP bought 4.75 lakh shares of Ion Exchange at a price of Rs 1,220.75 apiece.

According to the shareholding pattern filed by the firm, at the end of the December 2020 quarter, Jhunjhunwala held a 5.29 per cent stake in Ion Exchange. 

Following this development, the shares of the smallcap firm slipped 4 per cent to hit a low of Rs 1,347 on the BSE. At 10.07 am, the stock recouped some losses and was trading 2.93 per cent lower at Rs 1362.10 as against a 0.76 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. 

Barring today's decline, the shares of the firm have added 16.55 per cent in the last four trading sessions with the stock touching a 52-week high of Rs 1,450 on March 2.

In the third quarter of FY21, the net profit of Ion Exchange rose 10.13 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 29.14 crore from Rs 26.46 crore during the previous quarter ended December 2019.