“The listing is in line with expectations, as there was strong demand during the IPO and many investors who did not get allotment may try to add the stock in the portfolio,” said Sunny Agrawal, head of fundamental equity research, SBICAPS Securities.
The widely-watched ₹4,012-crore IPO of the depository, which was priced at ₹800 per share, was subscribed 41 times with strong appetite from institutions and rich investors. Before NSDL, HDB Financial and Hexaware Tech were two big-ticket IPOs that made listing gains of around 13% and 5%, respectively.
The market infrastructure institution had a market capitalisation of ₹18,720 crore on Wednesday while its larger peer, Central Depository Services (India) Ltd’s market value is nearly double – at ₹32,280.1 crore.
Analysts said in a duopoly market, NSDL being the largest player in terms of demat value (86.8% in total demat value) is a proxy play on the growth story of capital market of India. “NSDL is trading at relatively cheaper valuation compared with CDSL; At IPO issue price, NSDL was trading at FY25 Price to Earnings multiple of 47 times compared with 67 times for CDSL,” said Agrawal. “We believe from a short-term perspective gains can sustain.” Despite cheaper valuations, investors need not be in a hurry to buy NSDL shares afresh. “For investors who did not receive allotment in the IPO, a wait and watch approach is advised because post-listing dips could offer a more attractive entry point,” said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities.
