Shares of Avenue Supermart, which owns and operates D-Mart retail chain, on Wednesday, hit a record high of Rs 989 on the BSE. Shares touched an intra-day high of Rs 999 and a close to Rs 250 crore were traded on the BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE). D-Mart had issued shares at Rs 299 apiece in its initial public offering (IPO) in March.
At Wednesday's closing price, the company was valued at Rs 61,731 crore. D-Mart's market capitalisation (m-cap) is higher than 13 companies' part of the benchmark Nifty 50. It overtook Tata Steel's m-cap on Wednesday.
Other Nifty components like Ambuja Cements, Hindalco, Cipla and Lupin are valued lower than D-Mart. Market players said D-Mart shares could be soon included in benchmark indices such as the Nifty. The move will be positive for the stock, as it will attract investments from exchange-traded funds.
D-Mart, however, has high promoter holding of 82.2 per cent, which could strict its weight in indices, where consider only free-float (non-promoter) holding.
Analysts say shares of D-Mart are trading at rich valuations but the downside could be protected, thanks to low free-float, high-growth prospects and lack of other investment alternatives in the same space.