Market Movers: A Big Bull bet is down in dumps and Diwali bash on realty counters

Backed by veteran investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, the gaming technology company had caught investors’ imagination over the past nine months. In recent weeks, though, the stock has been down in the dumps.

Without grabbing many eyeballs, shares of Nazara Technologies have given up more than 30 per cent of the gains after hitting record highs in early October. The losses have been primarily driven by profit booking, given the rich valuations.

Whether the stock will dive further is anybody’s guess, but a move back towards the record highs certainly looks elusive as investors become more demanding on the back of earnings delivery and uncertainty over gaming regulations.


SBI makes pitch for rerating

State-owned lenders have been trading at a discount to their private rivals since the dawn of time. That is largely because of the state-owned tag and their limited capacity to protect market share from deep-pocketed private players. SBI is trying to quickly change that argument.

While the stock has seen a substantial rerating over the past 12 months, its September quarter earnings provided another glimpse into the turnaround happening under the new Managing Director, Dinesh Khera. Trading at little more than 1 times one-year forward price-to-book, SBI’s improving asset quality and loan growth prospects may force investors to value the company at higher multiples.

Another boardroom drama

We were just getting tired of eating popcorn while watching the dramedy that is Zee Entertainment vs Invesco when another boardroom drama landed on our lap. This time, the company is Spandana Sphoorty and the protagonist is the company’s founder and managing director Padmaja Reddy.

Reddy has in spectacular fashion resigned from her post to protest the majority share owner Kedaara Capital’s sale of the company to Axis Bank at “throwaway price”. As much as the drama is intriguing, it did not seem to bother investors. The shares of Spandana Sphoorty ended nearly 3 per cent higher.


Realty stocks singing a different tune

If there is one sector that couldn’t be bothered by what is happening to the rest of the world right now, it is real estate.

The Nifty Realty index surged another 2 per cent in the session as investors continued to buy stocks of real estate companies on optimism that the sector is in the middle of a once-in-a-generation turnaround. The strong sales numbers reported by the likes of Oberoi Realty, Godrej Property and DLF have provided more evidence of the return of the real estate investment cycle in the economy. Long may it continue!