NSE has achieved a significant milestone by entering the top 10 companies on BSE by market capitalisation, reaching ₹4.62 trillion following a 5% rise in Thursday's debut trading session. The exchange now stands at the 10th position, beating FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (₹4.53 trillion), pharmaceutical giant Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (₹4.48 trillion), and consumer discretionary firm Titan Company (₹4.33 trillion). NSE shares made a modest market debut on Thursday, listing at ₹1,800 per share on BSE, less than a 1% premium over its IPO price of ₹1,785. The stock then moved higher to ₹1,878, representing a 5% premium to its issue price, demonstrating strong post-listing momentum. The company's market capitalisation post listing now stands at ₹4.63 lakh crore, making it the ninth largest entity in the Indian stock market. Currently, the stock is higher by 3% from both listing and IPO price, trading at ₹1,852.95 apiece on BSE.
The NSE IPO opened for public subscription on September 17 and closed on September 21, with allotment finalized on Tuesday, 22 September. The IPO was subscribed 5.71 times overall, garnering bids for 50.58 crore shares compared with 8.86 crore shares on offer. The IPO price band has been set at ₹1,700 to ₹1,785 per share with a lot size of 8 shares, requiring a minimum investment of ₹14,280 for retail investors based on the upper price band. Kotak Mahindra Capital Co. Ltd. serves as the book running lead manager while MUFG Intime India Pvt. Ltd. acts as the NSE IPO registrar. The QIB segment was subscribed 12.68 times, reflecting strong institutional participation, while the non-institutional investor (NII) category was subscribed 6.55 times, and the retail investor portion received 1.39 times subscription. Since there was no fresh issue component, the company will not get any proceeds from the issue, with the money raised going directly to selling shareholders. Investors who received NSE IPO allotment made ₹120 per lot, taking the value of their investment to ₹1,440 at the listing price of ₹1,800 per share.
NSE's ₹4.62 trillion valuation now makes it the ninth largest listed company in India, overtaking FMCG bellwether HUL and healthcare giant Sun Pharmaceuticals. The newly listed exchange now ranks behind Reliance Industries which has a market capitalisation of ₹16.77 lakh crore, followed by HDFC Bank at ₹11.25 lakh crore, along with Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, SBI, TCS, Bajaj Finance, and LT. BSE's market cap stands at ₹1.33 lakh crore, significantly lower than NSE's valuation. Vinit Bolinjkar, head of research at Ventura, noted that NSE's valuation reflects its dominant market position, strong profitability, and network-driven business model. NSE operates a broader multi-asset exchange ecosystem covering equities, derivatives, currencies, debt, clearing, indices, data services, and technology solutions, giving it an edge over peers. The two key factors to watch on day one are whether the thinly subscribed retail float holds and whether institutions allot a fraction of their bids buy the balance in the secondary market, according to Harshal Dasani, business head at INVasset. NSE is India's largest exchange by trading activity, with FY26 market shares of 92.99% in cash-market turnover, 99.79% in equity futures, and 74.71% in equity options premium turnover.
Macquarie has initiated coverage on the NSE stock with an 'Outperform' rating and a target price of ₹1,965 per share, implying an upside potential of 10% from the upper price band. The brokerage describes NSE as "The Dominator" citing its leading market share and strong market position, highlighting NSE's full suite of services, technology and deep liquidity, which make it a key part of India's financialization, calling it the "lynchpin" of India's financialization. Macquarie forecasts a 12% revenue CAGR over FY26-30E, driven by non-transaction revenues and new products, partly offset by modest share losses in cash equities and F&O. Emkay also initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a Sep-27E target price of ₹2,050, implying around 15% upside. The brokerage's positive view rests on India's capital market development and growth story having a long runway as wealth creation and financialisation gain momentum, with India's per capita GDP expected to move from around $3,000 to $10,000 over the coming decades. Most brokerages tracking the IPO had a 'Subscribe' recommendation, while some, including Religare, maintained a neutral stance. YES Securities noted that almost all listed equity trading risk in India flows through a single platform, with NSE's advantage extending beyond pricing to a liquidity cycle where orders move towards tighter spreads.
The NSE IPO was an offer-for-sale of 12.64 crore shares by existing shareholders, with no fresh issue component, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine. The ₹22,562 crore IPO raised ₹6,746.18 crore from anchor investors, with 3,77,93,739 shares allotted at ₹1,785 apiece. Before the IPO, the exchange fetched ₹6,746 crore in the anchor round from investors, including Goldman Sachs, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), GIC Singapore, Norges Bank, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Fidelity, HSBC Global Asset Management, Eastspring, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund (MF), Nippon India MF, Axis MF, Aditya Birla Sun Life MF, HDFC MF, Kotak MF, SBI MF and SBI General Insurance, among others. Under SEBI rules, pre-issue shares held by non-promoter shareholders are locked in for six months from the IPO allotment date. As of the June quarter, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) held 26.41% of NSE, while individual shareholders with holdings of up to ₹2 lakh accounted for 12.71%. Individuals with holdings above ₹2 lakh held another 9.58%, Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) held 5.31% and insurance companies 0.13%. NSE Managing Director and CEO Ashish Chauhan had earlier said that the exchange would not seek Sebi approval to trade NSE shares on its own platform.
Analysts at PL Capital have recommended 'ACCUMULATE' the NSE stock with a target price of ₹1,950, representing a 35x FY29E P/E multiple. As per Goodreturns, PL Capital analysts noted that NSE dominates the exchange landscape with over ~93% share in cash market and ~100% in stock and index futures (YTDFY27), supported by strong liquidity, robust technology and a comprehensive product suite. The brokerage highlighted that NSE's market share in index options has declined to ~65% (YTDFY27) due to regulatory hurdles; introduction of CAS and prop trading rules has impacted volumes further. While revenue grew at 25% CAGR in FY21-26, PL Capital builds a CAGR of 11% over FY26-29E due to shrinking share in index options. Their note added that they expect EBITDA margin to recover to 76% by FY29E (vs. 71% in FY26) as one-offs get adjusted, in-line with PAT CAGR of 11%. NSE's IPO values it at ₹4.4 trillion, with P/E of 32x on FY29E earnings, with PL Capital believing the valuation largely captures the premium. The stock is currently trading at ₹1,852.95 apiece on BSE, with a market cap of over ₹4.59 lakh crore, having touched a 52-week high of ₹1,878.
