ICICI Prudential AMC shares can go up to ₹3,000; PL Capital says before listing

Domestic brokerage firm PL Capital, part of the Prabhudas Lilladher Group, has initiated coverage on ICICI Prudential AMC ahead of its stock market debut scheduled for Friday, December 19.

The brokerage cited the company's dominant position in the asset management space, backed by strong fundamentals, as the key reason for its positive stance.

PL Capital expects up to a 40% upside in ICICI Prudential AMC's share price from its issue price. It has initiated coverage with a 'Buy' rating and a price target of ₹3,000 per share.

The brokerage remains optimistic about the company's business prospects, referring to its strong parentage and performance, which have helped it secure the highest net equity flow market share of 17.5% during the first eight months of FY26 among all AMCs.

It also pointed to superior equity yields of 67 basis points, backed by the lowest distributor payouts in the industry. In addition, ICICI Prudential AMC accounts for nearly 73.7% of mutual fund sales through ICICI Bank, aided by the bank's closed distribution architecture.

The brokerage also said the company's relatively higher contribution from non mutual fund revenue at 9.2% compared with peers.

PL Capital expects ICICI Prudential AMC's equity average assets under management to grow at a CAGR that is 2.5% higher than the industry over FY25 to FY28, translating into a core profit after tax CAGR of about 18.5%.

At the upper band price of ₹2,165, the stock is valued at around 27 times its September 2027 core earnings per share. This represents a discount of about 17% to 16% compared with peers such as HDFC AMC and Nippon Life India AMC, both of which trade at around 32 times earnings.

The brokerage added that ICICI Prudential AMC could eventually command a valuation premium over HDFC AMC, driven by its stronger distribution network and better revenue diversification, while maintaining comparable profitability levels.

The ₹10,603-crore ICICI Prudential AMC IPO was open for subscription from December 12-16. The company had fixed the price band at ₹2,061-2,165 per share.

ICICI Prudential AMC's IPO has delivered one of the strongest demand signals seen in primary markets. The issue drew bids worth close to ₹

3 lakh crore from 55 lakh applications, making it the fourth-largest subscription amount in the history of Indian public offers.

For comparison, Tata Capital’s IPO had received about 23.6 lakh applications, HDB Financial Services around 43 lakh, while LG’s India issue had drawn nearly 65 lakh applications.

The unlisted market reports suggest shares of ICICI Prudential AMC trading at a premium of ₹360 per share. However, these reports are speculative in nature and the actual listing price may differ compared to the GMP rates.

ICICI Prudential AMC IPO shares will be listed on both NSE and BSE platforms on December 19.