From slump to soaring: These five large and mid-cap stocks soar up to 73% in 2023 after poor 2022 show

After a lacklustre performance in the previous year, shares of Zensar Technologies, Tata Motors, PB Fintech, Paytm, and eClerx Services have made a remarkable comeback in 2023, witnessing significant gains of up to 73%.

Investors who remained patient and held onto these stocks have been rewarded with fabulous returns. Multiple factors, such as improved market conditions, positive company developments, and renewed investor confidence, have led to a strong rebound in these stocks.

Zensar Technologies

Zensar Technologies experienced a significant turnaround in its share performance this year, bouncing back strongly after a 59% decline in CY22. The stock exhibited robust growth in January, rising by 8.12%, followed by an impressive rally of 26.05% in the subsequent month.

Continuing its upward trajectory, the stock gained an additional 33% in May, bringing the total rally to 73.54% in the current year so far.

The company's shares also reached a new 52-week high of Rs 389.8 apiece on May 15, 2023. At current levels, the stock is trading 81% higher than its 52-week low of Rs 201.5.

On May 11, the company released its Q4FY23 financial results, which cheered investors, causing the stock price to rise by 19.35% thus far.

The company delivered a healthy performance, with its net profit growing 56.57% QoQ to Rs 119 crore from Rs 76 crore in Q3 FY23.

Following the company's Q4 performance, brokerage firm, HDFC Securities has retained its 'buy' tag on the stock with a target price to Rs 445 apiece.

Tata Motors

Tata Motors faced challenges in CY22 due to weak financial performance, poor JLR sales, downgrades from global and domestic brokerage firms, geopolitical tensions, and supply chain issues. These factors led to a decline in the company's shares to Rs 388 apiece, representing a fall of 19.60%.

However, the stock experienced a positive start in CY2023, with a gain of 16.55% in January. This turnaround was driven by the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), reporting a 15% YoY increase in wholesales in Q3FY23, supported by a gradual improvement in chip supplies.

In addition, Tata Motors achieved profitability in Q3 FY23 after seven consecutive quarters of losses, starting in March 2021. In the December quarter, the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,043 crore, and in the following Q4, it reported an even better performance with a net profit of Rs 5,408 crore.

Overall, the stock delivered a better performance in the current year so far with a gain of 36%, outperforming the Nifty auto index by 23.40%, which returned 12.60% in the same period. Adding to this, the stock is currently positioned as the best performer within the index.

PB Fintech

PB Fintech, the parent company of PolicyBazaar and PaisaBazaar, was another stock that witnessed a significant turnaround after a weak performance in CY22, with a 35% rally.

The stock initially had a sluggish start to 2023, declining by 4.4% in January. However, from the start of February, it gained momentum after the company's Q3 performance surpassed analysts' expectations.

In Q3 FY23, the company showed signs of improvement, as its net loss narrowed to Rs 87 crore from Rs 298 crore in the same quarter of the previous year.

Similarly, in the recent March quarter, the company's performance further improved, with the net loss reducing to Rs 9.34 crore compared to Rs 219.61 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year.

These positive developments have resulted in a 35.17% gain in the stock price in 2023 so far, which currently stands at Rs 605 apiece. However, it still has a long way to go to reach its IPO price of Rs 980 apiece.

Paytm

One 97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, experienced a significant decline in its share price in CY22, making it the worst-performing stock in the Nifty 100 index with a loss of 60%.

However, the stock has made a solid comeback, with a gain of 31.3% so far in the current year. Notably, between February 3 and 9, the stock experienced a staggering surge of 34.50% after the company's Q3FY23 losses narrowed to Rs 392 crore from Rs 778.4 crore in the same period of last year.

The company even demonstrated improved performance in the March-ending quarter, significantly reducing its losses to Rs 168 crore compared to Rs 762 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

This improvement was accompanied by a significant increase in consolidated revenue from operations, which rose by nearly 52% YoY to Rs 2,335 crore.

Following these encouraging results, global brokerage firms Citi and Macquarie have both maintained their 'buy' recommendations on the stock, with a target price of Rs 1,144 and Rs 800, respectively.

eClerx Services

eClerx Services, a global provider of knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) services, experienced significant growth in its share price in 2023, surging from Rs 1,281 apiece to Rs 1,629, rewarding its shareholders with a handsome return of 27.40%.

This rally stands in stark contrast to the stock's weak performance in CY22, which lost 26.50% of its value. Earlier in December 2022, brokerage firm Bonanza Portfolio initiated coverage on the stock with a target price of Rs 1,540 per share, citing a strong deal pipeline.

eClerx Services Limited provides critical business operations services to clients, including several of the world's leading companies across financial services, cable and telecommunications, and more.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of MintGenie.