HT Media sees Rs 731 high, Rs 557 low on debut

The stock recorded high volumes on both-BSE and NSE.

HT Media on Thursday debuted at Rs 685 on the Bombay Stock Exchange and hit an intra-day high of Rs 731 before closing at Rs 557.67, a 5.22 per cent premium over its issue price.

The stock, which was offered through the book-building route, was issued at the higher end of the price band of Rs 530. The stock recorded high volumes on both the exchanges "" about 14.5 million shares on the National Stock Exchange and nearly 5.5 million shares on the BSE.

Extensive profit-booking by institutional investors and speculative trades by day traders dragged the stock down from the intra-day high, analysts said.

They also said the FIIs, who had subscribed to the stock, also sold at higher prices during the day in substantial quantities to cash in on the high valuations.

QIBs were the highest subscribers to the issue with a 31.33 time over-subscription, much above non-institutional investors (3.60 times) and the retail ones (5.29 times).

"Institutions took the opportunity to cash in on high valuations in Thursday's trade as the stock may find it difficult to attain those levels in the near future. Many institutions off-loaded the stock, including several FIIs," a dealer said.

Mehrooban Irani of Mumbai-based broking firm Darashaw said, "Those who had bought the stock in the grey market at a premium of around Rs 70-80, or through margin funding, squared off their positions in the stock at higher levels. However, there seems to be no downside risk for the stock from Thursday's closing."

Shobhana Bhartia, vice-chairperson and editorial director of the company, sounded the ceremonial gong, marking the listing of the stock on the BSE at the start of the trading session.

Speaking at the function, Bhartia said the company was overwhelmed by the response to the public offering and that the management was all set to maximise shareholder value by adhering to best corporate governance practices.