Zomato stock rises 4.3% after falling 21% in 2 days; here’s why

Food delivery company Zomato Ltd's stock bounced back, after losing 21% of its value in the past two days, rising 4.32% to ₹43.45 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) today. The rise in stock price comes a day after the food-tech company's board approved the allotment of 4,65,51,600 (4.6 crore) equity shares having a face value of ₹1 each to the identified company employees and its subsidiaries.

The Zomato stock has seen a big erosion in its value this week after the lock-in period for promoters, shareholders, founders, and employees ended on July 25. These pre-IPO investors constitute 78% or 613 crore shares of the total paid-up capital of Zomato.

Of 4.6 crore shares, 63,51 ,600 were allotted under the Zomato Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) 2018, while 4,02,00,000 shares were allotted under the Zomato ESOP 2021.

After the allotment, Zomato’s issued, subscribed, and paid-up equity share capital will rise from ₹787,36,54,676 to ₹792,02,06,276, which consists of 792,02,06,276 equity shares of the face value of ₹1 each, Zomato says in an exchange filing.

Analysts say apart from the announcement of ESOPs, the cheaper price of the New Delhi-based food tech company share has helped it gain some positive momentum today. At the time of filing the report, 2.2 crore shares were exchanging hands on the counter as compared to the two-week average quantity of 88.6 lakh.

Foreign brokerage Jefferies has also retained its ‘buy’ rating on the stock, with a target price of ₹100. “Blinkit acquisition elongates the path to profitability and despite management guidance on break-even in food delivery, investors are not giving many benefits of the doubt. We think this makes for a great case for LT investors to buy,” the foreign brokerage adds. Zomato will pay as much as ₹4,447 crore to acquire Blinkit (formerly Grofers) in an all-stock deal.

Before suring by 4.40%, Zomato's share price plunged to its lifetime low of ₹40.55 during the opening trade at 9.23 AM. The stock opened a gap down at ₹41.30 as compared to the previous session close of ₹41.65. The stock has fallen 51.99% in the past six months and 69.26% in the year-to-date period. Since its opening on the bourses in July 2021, the stock has lost 65.36% of its value.

The company's current market capitalisation stands at ₹34,289.77 crore – a 66% drop compared to its m-cap of ₹1 lakh crore at the time of listing last year. The stock of the food delivery platform has had a rollercoaster ride ever since it got listed on stock exchanges last year. Shares of Zomato were listed at a 51% premium over the issue price of ₹76 on the BSE. They had touched an all-time high of ₹169.10 on November 16, 2021.