Vodafone Idea share price gains despite stock market crash, jumps 40% in one month. More upside left?

Vodafone Idea share price traded higher on Wednesday despite weakness in the broader Indian stock market, lifted by sustained buying interest in the stock. Vodafone Idea shares rose as much as 0.91% to ₹14.29 apiece on the BSE.

The recent rally in Vodafone Idea shares came after ICRA upgraded its credit rating and outlook on the stock.

The ratings agency upgraded its credit rating on Vodafone Idea to A- on Tuesday, from BBB earlier. ICRA also revised its outlook to ‘Stable’ from its previous outlook of ‘Positive’.

The rating upgrade factors in support from the promoter Aditya Birla Group, which has further strengthened with the re‑appointment of Kumar Mangalam Birla as the Chairman of the board, and with the proposed equity infusion of approximately ₹4,730 crore through a preferential allotment of warrants to a promoter group entity in May 2026.

These developments, according to ICRA, reflects strong confidence in Vodafone Idea’s potential and long-term growth trajectory.

ICRA also noted that the AGR freeze and the equity conversion earlier by the government, substantiates the telecom sector’s importance for the government and its intention to maintain a three private-player market.

The Stable outlook reflects ICRA’s expectations of healthy revenue and profit growth, following timely capex implementation and the possibility of a tariff hike, going forward.

Citi’s Upgrade

Brokerage firm Citi upgraded its ratings to ‘Buy’ from ‘Buy / High Risk’, and raised Vodafone Idea share price target to ₹17 from ₹14 earlier, implying an upside potential of over 20% from Tuesday’s closing price.

Citi said it updated its model to incorporate FY26 actuals along with the government’s reassessment of the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.

It believes the Aditya Birla Group’s ₹4,700 crore equity infusion via warrants (3.8% of equity) underscores promoter confidence and should facilitate closure of the long-pending bank funding.

Additionally, ratings agency Crisil has assigned an A-/Stable rating to Vodafone Idea’s proposed banking facilities.

“Taken together, these developments materially alleviate leverage and cash flow concerns for Vodafone Idea. Accordingly, we remove our High Risk rating on the stock,” Citi said.

It also raised target enterprise value (EV)/EBITDA multiple to 13x from 12x given operational improvement and as going concern risks have receded, resulting in an upward revision to its target price.

Key downside risks that could prevent Vodafone Idea shares from reaching the target price include the delay in completing the bank fund raise, competitive intensity worsening, leading to disappointing tariff hikes in future, no reduction in subscriber churn and lower-than-expected pace of 4G/5G subscriber additions, Citi added.

Vodafone Idea Share Price History

Vodafone Idea share price has gained nearly 40% in one month and has risen over 21% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis. The telecom stock has rallied 34% in six month and has jumped 108% in one year. Vodafone Idea share price has surged 97% in three years, while it has spiked 51% in five years.

At 10:25 AM, Vodafone Idea share price was trading flat at ₹14.16 apiece on the BSE.

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