Post 30% rise, RIL rating cut by top Nomura analyst for first time in years

The stock is trading at about 27 times of its 12-month forward earnings estimate, more than two standard deviations above its 10-year average

A downgrade of Reliance Industries Ltd., India’s biggest stock by market value, by Nomura Holdings Inc. analyst Anil Sharma’s team just days before its earnings citing “rich” valuations will pique investor interest for multiple reasons.
 

Apart from the timing, with commodities hitting new records and Reliance’s earnings due on Friday, Sharma’s move to slash billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s oil-to-tech conglomerate to neutral from buy may carry more weight with investors due to the analyst’s background. It’s also the broker’s first downgrade on the stock in many years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

While the outlook for Reliance’s key businesses