Betting big on Ahmednagar Forgings

STREET SIGNS

There seems to be no stopping the bulls. After the heady buying spree which took the Sensex beyond 8000, one would have expected them to take a breather.

However, by the looks of it the party is set continue for a while yet. Markets started the new week from where they left off last weekend.

The result was that the Sensex crossed the 8,100 mark to end at 8138.42, which was its highest closing since the last trading session.

Forging ahead

Home Maker Fund is a big believer in India's outsourcing story. The fund recently bought more than a lakh of shares of automotive forgings stocks, Ahmednagar Forgings at Rs 480 levels.

The counter has been witnessing sold buying interest of late, with the stock appreciating nearly 42 per cent in the past couple of months.

With more and more global auto giants looking at Indian auto ancillary players for outsourcing material, the companies in the sector are having it good.

Keeping in mind the demand from both domestic and global markets, Ahmednagar Forgings had recently announced its expansion plans.

The company is expanding its existing capacity of steel forging and finished/semi-finished forging from 43000 metric tonne to 80,000 mt by the end of fiscal year 2005. Home Maker Fund surely seems impressed by that.

Phoenix rises

Home Maker Fund's other buying came at Phoenix Lamps counter. The fund bought more than two lakh shares at Rs 90 levels. This is another stock which the fund is keenly backing to do well.

The reason seems to be expectation of huge growth from the compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) and halogen automotive lamps business.

The buying interest in the counter in the past few months has seen the stock moving up 78 per cent in the past four months.

The company expects its CFL business to grow over 30 per cent in the next few years. The company is expected to grow its topline by 29 per cent and bottomline by 61 per cent from 2005-07.

VisualSoft hardens

The buying at midcap IT counter VisualSoft Technologies continues. Nearly a fortnight after Metro fund bought the stocks at Rs 196 levels, another biggies, Uncle Sam has decided to enter the counter.

The fund is said to have bought nearly 2.5 lakh shares at Rs 212 levels. Close on the heels of Softbank of Japan acquiring a 14 per cent stake in the company, Metro had also made some purchases at the counter, thus increasing its share to 5.80 per cent in the company.

Desi funds Reliable and Prudent had also bought the stock around the same time. The stock has appreciated by more than 72 per cent since the beginning of August.