LIC Briefly Reclaims Rs 5-Lakh-Crore Market Cap, Ends Lower
The LIC started surging last month after it projected double-digit growth for new business premiums.
Life Insurance Corp.'s briefly reclaimed the Rs 5-lakh-crore mark as a rally triggered by optimistic growth guidance by India's largest insurer.
State-owned LIC listed on the exchanges on May 17, 2022 at over an 8% discount at Rs 872 on the BSE and at Rs 867.20 on the NSE. The market cap was Rs 5.5 lakh crore at the time.
The market value of India's largest insurer slipped below Rs 5 lakh crore on June 6, 2022. But it started rising from Rs 3.86 lakh crore on Nov. 22 this year and crossed Rs 5.05 lakh crore on Friday.
Shares of LIC fell as much as 1.66% to close at Rs 772.45 apiece on the NSE on Friday.
It has risen 12.83% on a year-to-date basis. The relative strength index was at 80, indicating other stock is overbought.
Fifteen out of 19 analysts tracking LIC have a 'buy' rating on the stock, three recommend 'hold' and one suggests 'sell,' according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month analyst price targets implies a potential upside of 3%.
The LIC stock saw a huge rally late last month as it projected double-digit growth for new business premiums.
"We are going to achieve that because a recent trend is showing an uptick in individual retail business," LIC Chairperson Siddhartha Mohanty had told PTI in an interview. "In order to further reinforce our commitment, we are going to launch some new attractive products."
LIC's investment in Adani Group has more than doubled since the post-Hindenburg lows as the conglomerate's stocks rallied.
The combined value of the insurer's holdings in Adani stocks stood at Rs 56,629 crore as of Dec. 5, recovering by Rs 30,300 crore from the lowest they fell to after the short-seller's allegations.
