Unlisted NSE shares rally on heavy demand
NSE) have seen a surge of more than 20% over the past two weeks in off-market transactions, after almost two years of sideways moves.
This upswing is linked to heightened demand from wealthy individuals and retail investors amid a restricted supply of shares, with a few large investors reneging on their commitment to sell, said brokers.
Additionally, a rally in the shares of the two listed exchange operators — BSE and MCX — and the unlocking of value through the proposed public issue of the National Securities Depository, in which NSE holds a 24% stake, also played a role in fuelling the price, the brokers said.
Trading at around Rs 3,100-3,200 a month ago, the stock has currently ascended to a range of Rs 3,800-3,900, as reported by brokers. To be sure, these prices are from the transactions in the unlisted market and are not official figures.
At Rs 3,900 per share, India's largest bourse would be valued at Rs 1.93 lakh crore, or 25 times its 12-months earnings.
Shares of BSE surged 220% in the past six months, while those of MCX gained around 94%.
These two exchanges are currently trading 87 times and 348 times, respectively, their trailing 12-month earrings.
Sandip Ginodia, managing director of Abhishek Securities, said the NSE share price shot up was due to substantial demand from retail investors, coupled with a situation where a few significant investors had reneged on their commitment to sell.
After surging from Rs 1,800 in January 2021 to Rs 3,500 in December that year, the stock stabilised around Rs 3,000 until recently, primarily due to the prevailing uncertainty surrounding its initial public offering plan. In the past one to two years, several significant institutional investors had divested part of
