Share values of some of the most popular firms in the unlisted space, such as NSE, NSDL and Tata Capital, have fallen between 5% and 18% as investors worry that valuations of these companies in their upcoming IPOs would be lower than the current levels.

“Post the HDB IPO, we’ve observed a shift in investor sentiment, from being brand-conscious to becoming more valuation-sensitive, especially as HDB was priced significantly lower than its unlisted market value,” said Hitesh Dharawat of Dharawat Securities, an online marketplace of unlisted shares.

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The price of HDB’s ₹12,500-crore IPO last month was fixed at ₹740 per share, when the price in the unofficial market was ₹1,225 as of June 18, resulting in nearly 40% losses for investors who bought at those levels. The stock, which made its debut at ₹835, was at ₹838 on Wednesday.

The HDB episode has shaken investor confidence in the sanctity of unlisted market prices.

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In the past few weeks, NSDL’s prices have dropped from ₹1,250 to ₹1,025 amid concerns that the stock depository’s IPO price may be lower than the current levels in the unlisted market. The company is speculated to hit the IPO market by the end of July, though this could not be ascertained.Dharawat said HNIs and institutional investors are offloading their holdings in NSE and NSDL, while retail investors remain the buyers. “Retail investors are continuing to buy into these names, fuelled by FOMO (fear of missing out) and expectations of strong listings, despite elevated valuations,” he said.NSE shares in the unlisted market have declined nearly 6% in the past month in the wake of the risk-off sentiment.

“While earlier investors were chasing big brands in the unlisted space, now people have become much more aware of valuations, and are comparing them with the listed peers,” said Sandip Ginodia, director at Altius Investech, a firm that deals in unlisted shares.

NSDL is currently trading at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 59.8 times, compared with its larger listed peer, CDSL, which trades at 70 times.

Tata Capital’s P/B (priceto-book) ratio — a valuation parameter- was at 10.5 times on Wednesday, compared to the country’s largest NBFC, Bajaj Finance’s 7.4 times.

“Tata Capital is yet to see a large amount of selling, but we anticipate the prices coming down further as the issue nears listing, due to its lofty valuations,” said Ginodia. He advised investors to go slow on buying shares in the unlisted market currently, as the risk of lower IPO prices could lead to sharp losses.