ICICI Prudential AMC to be in focus on January 16 as ₹1,910 crore worth shares set to unlock

Shares of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company, one of India's largest asset managers, will be in focus on Friday, January 16, as the one-month shareholder lock in period ends.

According to Nuvama Alternative & Quantitative Research, around 7 million shares of the company, representing nearly 1% of its outstanding equity, will become eligible for trading.

It must be noted that the end of the shareholder lock-in does not mean all the shares will be sold in the open market. They only become eligible to be traded.

Based on Wednesday's closing price of ₹2,729, the shares unlocking are valued at about ₹1,910 crore. The stock is currently trading around 26% above its IPO price of ₹2,165.

Several brokerages have initiated coverage on the stock with positive recommendations.

Centrum Broking has assigned a 'Buy' rating with a price target of ₹3,181, while Equirus Securities has initiated coverage with a 'Long' rating and a target of ₹2,900. PL Capital, part of the Prabhudas Lilladher Group, has also started coverage with a 'Buy' call and a price target of ₹3,000.

ICICI Prudential AMC had a strong stock market debut, listing at a premium of over 20% as investors bet on sustained domestic inflows into mutual funds.

The stock debuted at ₹2,600 on the National Stock Exchange, a 20.09% premium over the upper end of the IPO price band of ₹2,165. The ₹10,603 crore public issue was priced in the range of ₹2,061 to ₹2,165 per share.

Post listing, ICICI Prudential AMC has emerged as India's most valuable listed asset management company, with a market capitalisation of around ₹1.12 lakh crore. It is ahead of HDFC Asset Management Company and Nippon Life India Asset Management, which are valued at about ₹56,000 crore.

On Wednesday, shares of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd. ended 2.14% higher at ₹2,729.