MCX shares surged over 3% to hit a fresh record high of ₹3,315.90 on Thursday, extending sharp gains amid multiple tailwinds that have pushed the stock nearly 9% higher over the past week. The stock has gained nearly 20% in one month and more than 50% in 2026 so far, rallying a whopping 166% over the past one year. Over the longer term, MCX shares have delivered returns of more than 1,116% in three years and 988% in five years. According to reports from ET Now, the rally reflects growing investor optimism around rising market participation, higher trading volumes, and improving profitability prospects for exchange-led businesses.
The company's net profit stood at ₹530 crore in Q4 FY26, marking a 291% jump from ₹135 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. Revenue from operations surged more than 205% to ₹889 crore in Q4 FY26, compared with ₹291 crore in the same period last year. Sequentially, net profit grew 32% from ₹401 crore in Q3 FY26, while revenue rose 34% from ₹666 crore in the December quarter of FY26. EBITDA soared 271% year-on-year to ₹530 crore, while the EBITDA margin improved to 76% during the quarter under review. MCX maintained a dividend payout of 15% on YoY basis.
Morgan Stanley maintained its Overweight rating on MCX and raised the target price to ₹3,665 from ₹3,270, reflecting an upside of over 10% from current market price. The brokerage increased FY27/FY28 ADTR estimates and EPS forecasts, citing sustained commodity activity amid geopolitical uncertainty and higher post-Q4 cost expectations. Elara Capital set a target price of ₹3,409 with 2.5% upside, highlighting that Q4 revenue nearly doubled YoY and rose 33% QoQ, driven by strong futures and options traction. On BSE, Nuvama maintains a BUY rating with target price of ₹3,760, representing 13% upside, while Centrum downgraded the stock with a target of ₹3,902, showing -3.1% downside.
The strong performance comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged citizens to reduce purchases of non-essential gold over the next year, which has led to a sharp rise in commodity trading activity, particularly in precious metals. Motilal Oswal noted that MCX continues to strengthen its product pipeline across metals, energy and commodity indices, with a focus on commodity index futures and options. New metal index products are expected in FY27, with bullion and energy driving incremental volume growth in FY26. However, elevated bullion volatility led to sequential moderation from peak levels in Q4, with commodity volumes expected to normalise going forward.
