NSE shares fell as much as 1.8% to ₹1,761 on Monday, slipping below its IPO price of ₹1,785 for the first time since listing, marking a historic milestone as the stock extended a lackluster start amid a broader equity selloff. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, the stock traded below its IPO price on the third day of trading, continuing the second consecutive session of decline that began after the exchange's debut. The decline came as Indian equity markets nosedived with the NIFTY50 breaking below its psychologically important level of 23,000 to hit an intraday low of 22,834 and the 30-share SENSEX dropping as much as 974 points. Brent crude futures for November delivery rose over 1% to $105.64 per barrel after US President Donald Trump rejected a peace deal from Iran, keeping Middle East tensions elevated. The 10-year US bond yield surged to its highest level in nearly 20 years to 5.2%, making American bond markets more attractive and leading to a flight of money from emerging market equities like India to the safety of bonds.
NSE's post-listing market capitalisation now stands at ₹4.49 lakh crore, making it the 10th-largest listed company in India and overtaking healthcare giant Sun Pharmaceuticals and Tata group's Titan. As reported by Zee News, this represents a significant decline from the peak of ₹1,878 on listing day, with the stock having debuted at ₹1,800, above its final issue price of ₹1,785 and touched a high of ₹1,878 on its listing day. The ₹22,569 crore IPO of NSE, the country's second-largest public issue after Hyundai Motor India's ₹27,870-crore IPO in 2024, was subscribed 5.71 times with strong demand from institutional investors. The issue received bids for 50.58 crore shares against 8.86 crore shares on offer, with the stock valued at 22x FY29E EV/EBITDA and 29.5x FY29E P/E at its 'cap price' of the prospectus price band. The exchange's IPO was open from September 17 to September 21 and witnessed significant subscription levels, though the main book attracted bids worth less than ₹1 lakh crore, with state-run Life Insurance Corp. of India emerging as the biggest bidder.
Stock market experts believe the NSE share price is falling due to weak market sentiment, but advise that NSE has strong fundamentals and should be held in one's portfolio. According to The Economic Times, experts advised NSE shareholders to hold the stock, maintaining a stop-loss at ₹1,740, with the previous close of ₹1,792-95 remaining the immediate hurdle on Monday. Apurva Sheth, Head of Market Perspectives and Research at SAMCO Securities, suggests an illustrative accumulation plan where investors would buy 100 shares at ₹1,700, 200 shares at ₹1,600, 300 shares at ₹1,500, 400 shares at ₹1,400, and 500 shares at ₹1,300. The strategy involves investing progressively larger amounts as the share price declines, avoiding putting the entire investment amount into the stock at one price and reducing the need to accurately predict the market bottom. PL Capital maintains its 'Accumulate' rating with a target price of ₹1,950 per share, implying an upside of about 9.2% from current levels. Macquarie rated NSE 'Outperform' and set a target price of ₹1,965, representing a 10% upside from current levels. Emkay Global initiated coverage with a 'Buy' rating and a September 2027 target price of ₹2,050 per share, representing an upside of approximately 14% from current levels.
Global brokerages have set optimistic price targets for NSE shares, with Emkay Global initiating coverage with a 'Buy' rating and a September 2027 target price of ₹2,050 per share, representing an upside of approximately 14% from current levels. As reported by The Economic Times, Emkay highlighted three key factors for its positive outlook: India's capital market development and growth story has 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. Second, NSE has maintained a resilient leadership position across capital market business segments over the decades, with its business model having sufficient levers to adapt to changing regulatory and macroeconomic conditions while continuing to deliver profitable growth. Third, strong profitability and cash generation at market infrastructure institutions (MIIs), including stock exchanges, allow them to command higher valuation multiples globally than other capital market players, which are more fragmented and exposed to competition. PL Capital expects the exchange to increasingly benefit from a more diversified revenue mix, supported by multiple recurring income streams, with listing services, colocation, data feed and index licensing expected to grow at a faster 14% CAGR over FY26-29E, compared with 9% for transaction income. Macquarie noted that NSE entered the market as India's 10th-largest company by market capitalisation, with mutual funds, insurance companies, pension funds and overseas investors providing potential institutional demand.
NSE's post-listing market capitalisation now stands at ₹4.49 lakh crore, making it the 10th largest listed company in the Indian stock market and overtaking healthcare giant Sun Pharmaceuticals and Tata group's Titan. According to Zee News, the newly listed exchange now ranks behind Reliance Industries (₹16.42 lakh crore), HDFC Bank (₹11.16 lakh crore), Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, SBI, TCS, Bajaj Finance, L&T, HUL and Sun Pharma. As reported by Moneycontrol, PL Capital expects the exchange to increasingly benefit from a more diversified revenue mix, supported by multiple recurring income streams, with listing services, colocation, data feed and index licensing expected to grow at a faster 14% CAGR over FY26-29E, compared with 9% for transaction income. The brokerage noted that transaction income accounted for 79% of NSE's operating revenue in FY26. Macquarie noted that NSE entered the market as India's 10th-largest company by market capitalisation, with mutual funds, insurance companies, pension funds and overseas investors providing potential institutional demand. Shivani Nyati from Swastika Investmart advises that short-term and listing-gain investors are advised to maintain a strict stop-loss at ₹1,740 per share, while long-term investors may hold through volume-driven volatility to capture the exchange's structural compounding potential. NSE officials have remained upbeat about the exchange's prospects, saying a wave of regulatory tightening in India's derivatives market is largely over, with the bourse regaining market share in equity options as traders adapt to stricter rules and seeing a pickup in commodities.
