Lenskart recovers after weak debut; experts split on outlook; hold or sell?

Lenskart share price: Analysts offered mixed opinions on Lenskart, with some advising investors to hold for the long term, while others suggested booking losses and exiting.

Lenskart share price: The highly anticipated listing of omnichannel eyewear retailer Lenskart Solutions fell short of expectations despite strong demand during the IPO phase. The stock made a negative debut on Dalal Street, listing at ₹395 per share on the NSE, a 1.75 per cent discount compared to the issue price of ₹402. After listing, the stock slipped further to an intraday low of ₹356.1, down nearly 10 per cent from its listing price.

 

On the BSE, the stock opened at ₹390 and touched a low of ₹355.7, marking a nearly 9 per cent decline from the issue price. 

 

 

However, the stock recovered the losses during the session. At the time of writing, the stock was quoting at ₹401.1, up 1.7 per cent from the listing price. In comparison, the NSE Nifty50 index was trading at 25,598.70 levels, up by 106.40 points or 0.42 per cent.

 

This weak listing came as a surprise, given the robust overall IPO subscription of 28.26 times. According to National Stock Exchange (NSE) data, the demand was primarily driven by strong participation from Qualified Institutional Buyers with 40.35 times subscription of the reserved portion, followed by NIIs at 18.23 times and retail investors at 7.54 times. 

Lenskart shares: Should you buy, sell or hold?

Analysts offered mixed opinions on Lenskart, with some advising investors to hold for the long term, while others suggested booking losses and exiting.

 

Shivani Nyati, head of wealth at Swastika Investmart, advised investors who received the allotment to hold the stock for the medium to long term, citing the company’s strong earnings visibility and expanding store footprint.  She suggested maintaining a stop loss around ₹350. “Short-term traders may consider exiting the position and looking for better opportunities elsewhere,” Nyati added.

 

On the contrary, Ravi Singh, chief research officer at MasterTrust, held a more cautious view, stating that the outlook remains negative. “This is clearly an exit situation, as the real numbers have now come to light. There is no viable long-term investment strategy at this point. Investors should book their existing losses, as the downside could extend by around 20 per cent from current levels,” he said. 

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  Abhishek Jain, head of research at Arihant Capital Markets, believes the stock is best suited for investors with a high-risk appetite and a long-term outlook, given its premium valuations and growth-focused strategy. 

 

"Aggressive investors can consider Lenskart for its strong brand and scalable business model, while conservative investors may prefer to stay cautious in the near term," he said.

Lenskart IPO details

Lenskart successfully raised ₹7,278.76 crore through its initial public offering (IPO), which included a fresh issue of 53.5 million equity shares and an offer for sale (OFS) of 127.6 million shares. The IPO was priced between ₹382 and ₹402 per share, with a minimum application size of 37 shares. The subscription window was open from October 31 to November 4, and the share allotment was finalised on Thursday, November 6.

 

As per the company’s Red Herring Prospectus (RHP), Lenskart intends to use ₹272.6 crore from the fresh issue to open new company-owned stores across India, while ₹591.4 crore will go towards lease and rental expenses for these outlets. Another ₹213.4 crore is earmarked for upgrading technology and cloud infrastructure, and ₹320.1 crore will be spent on marketing, branding, and promotional activities. The remaining proceeds are planned for potential acquisitions and general corporate purposes.