Paytm share price rises. Why the stock is in focus?
1 min read . Updated: 27 Feb 2023, 11:00 AM IST
Premium- Paytm shares surged more than 3% to ₹655 apiece on the BSE in Monday's opening deals
Shares of One 97 Communications (Paytm) surged more than 3% to ₹655 apiece on the BSE in Monday's opening deals as the stock is in focus on block deals news as well as reports of telecom tycoon Sunil Mittal seeking a stake in the Indian fintech firm.
Reports suggest that China's Ant Group and Japan's SoftBank Group Corp have discussed selling stake in One 97 Communications, which operates the digital payments firm Paytm, through a block deal.
As per the reports, shareholders and investment banks representing the Ant Group and Softbank had earlier approached Bharti Airtel founder-chairman Sunil Mittal with an offer to buy their stakes, though, the talks didn't make much headway and Bharti is not currently engaged in conversations on this issue.
Paytm shares have remained under pressure since its dismal listing in November 2021. The stock has declined around 70% since its market debut and tumbled 60% in 2022. Though, the shares have rebounded about 40% from its record low in November as it shows signs of turning profitable.
Meanwhile, the fintech company posted its first-ever quarterly operating profit as a listed firm and the company's losses also narrowed during the third quarter of the current fiscal (Q3 FY23). Paytm's net loss in the quarter through December narrowed to ₹392 crore as compared to ₹779 crore a year earlier whereas its revenue from operations rose 42% to ₹2,062 crore.
Many brokerages turned bullish on the stock and raised target prices post Paytm's Q3 results. As per data compiled by Bloomberg, eight brokerages have either a buy or overweight recommendation on One 97 Communications, with a consensus 12-month price target of ₹944.6 per share.
Earlier this month, the company completed buyback of shares worth ₹850 crore at an average price of ₹545.9 per share. The board had approved the buyback proposal crore on December 13, representing 6.67% of the total paid-up share capital between December 21, 2022 to February 13, 2023. The company bought back shares in the price range of ₹702 to ₹480 apiece.
(With inputs from agencies)