Shares of an Indian shoemaker plunged 7.4 percent on Wednesday’s early trades to hit a record low of ₹ 282.75 apiece on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). This happened after volumes jumped at the counter amid reports about a block deal.
According to the available data, around 91 lakh shares of the company worth ₹ 265.2, crores changed hands at ₹ 295 per share in a block deal. However, the names of the buyers and sellers could not be ascertained immediately. The block deal price translates into a discount of 2.6 percent from the stock’s previous close of ₹ 303.00 on Tuesday on the NSE.
Campus Activewear is one of the largest sports and athleisure footwear brands in India, in terms of value and volume. It manufactures and distributes a variety of footwear like running shoes, walking shoes, casual shoes, floaters, slippers, flip flops, and sandals, available in multiple colours and styles, and at affordable prices.
The footwear company’s stock fell below its previous low of ₹ 298.05 apiece that it touched on July 27, 2023. In fact, its share price has fallen below its issue price of ₹ 292 per share.
The company went public in May last year. The stock had hit its all-time high of ₹ 639.30 in October 2022 and is now trading at a discount of almost 55 percent. It will be reporting its results for the June quarter on August 10. However, Campus Activewear’s revenue and profit growth was flat year-on-year due to subdued market demand and a 50 percent rise in selling, general and administrative expenses, led mainly by advertising.
Soon after the company’s earnings were announced, brokerage firm Motilal Oswal said that the shoemaker’s strong market position and a long runway for growth would help it see recovery by the second half of fiscal 2023-24, once the market recovers. At that time, it had recommended a buy rating on the company’s stock with a price target of ₹ 425, in its research report dated May 30, 2023.
With a market capitalization of ₹ 9,244 crores, Campus Activewear is a small-cap company. It has a high return on equity of 23.91 percent and an ideal debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Its shares were trading at a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 78.89, which is higher than the industry P/E of 27.16, indicating that the stock might be overvalued as compared to its peers.
The company’s promoters hold a 73.94 percent stake in it, followed by foreign institutions with 11.49 percent, retail investors with 8.21 percent, mutual funds with 6.26 percent and other domestic institutions with 0.10 percent.
Written by Simran Bafna
