Infosys drops out of India’s top 10 most valued companies
After Vishal Sikka quit as CEO of Infosys, investors have lost over Rs34,000 crore in market capitalisation in the last two trading sessions with the stock falling over 14.45%
Mumbai: Infosys Ltd, India’s second largest software services firm, lost its place in the list of the country’s 10 most valued companies in terms of market capitalisation after its chief executive officer and managing director Vishal Sikka resigned on Friday.
Investors have lost over Rs34,000 crore in market capitalisation in the last two trading sessions with the stock falling over 14.45%, its biggest two day fall since April 2013. It closed over three-year low after a slew of downgrades and the stock’s target price has been cut despite the company’s share buyback announcement last week.
Standing at a market cap of Rs2 trillion, Infosys now ranks at the eleventh position, and has been replaced in the top 10 by Indian Oil Corp. Ltd with market cap of Rs2.01 trillion.
Currently, Reliance Industries Ltd is the country’s most valued company with a market cap of Rs5.09 trillion, followed by Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (Rs4.83 trillion) and HDFC Bank Ltd (Rs4.49 trillion). ITC Ltd is number four (Rs3.44 trillion), followed by HDFC Ltd (Rs2.77 trillion), Hindustan Unilever Ltd (Rs2.58 trillion), State Bank of India (Rs2.37 trillion), Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (Rs2.27 trillion) and Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (Rs2.02 trillion).
“With Vishal Sikka’s resignation, Infosys’s near-term challenges include finding a suitable replacement in backdrop of his acrimonious exit, finding closure to the “founder issues” and maintaining business traction especially in large accounts. These will not be easy, but with the strategic direction not in question, we see business momentum sustaining. Meanwhile, stock correction appears to priced into any near-term hiccups,” said Jefferies India in a note to its investors.
Of the 50 brokers tracking the Infosys stock on Bloomberg, as many as 23 recommended a ‘buy’ rating, 10 asked its investors to ‘sell’ the stock and 17 have a ‘hold’ rating.
“Sikka’s abrupt departure post the allegations (although denounced by the Infosys board) would have unintended consequences: hiring of an external CEO of good stature is now virtually impossible, strategic client relationships could be under a cloud as executives in these organizations will find lack of a visionary road map on products they have already adopted a breach of trust, and pivoting to a new way to differentiate (such as acquiring boutique design and consulting firms) is not possible, given difficulty in integrating these firms with the firm’s frugal operations culture,” wrote Elara Capital in a 19 August note.
On Monday, the scrip closed at Rs873.50—a level last seen on 11 August 2014 on BSE, down 5.37% from its previous close while India’s benchmark Sensex index fell 0.84% to 265.83 points.
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First Published:21 Aug 2017, 08:37 PM IST
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