70% IPOs in September gave a listing bounty for investors. Can NSE beat its weak GMP?

September's IPO listings have largely rewarded investors, giving NSE bulls some comfort ahead of the exchange's market debut. But the sharp fall in NSE's grey market premium to around 2% shows the listing may still be more sober than spectacular.

According to Ace Equity data, out of 16 IPOs that have listed so far, only a small set has disappointed on listing day. Five issues listed below their issue price, while one listed flat. The rest delivered positive listing gains.

The post-listing picture is even better. Only five names are now flat-to-negative from their issue price, while most September listings are trading above their IPO price. That means several stocks either held their listing gains or recovered after weak debuts.


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The biggest winner in the pack is ESDS Software Solution, which listed at Rs 746 against an issue price of Rs 429, a listing gain of 74%. It is now trading at Rs 1,703 levels, giving a gain of 297% from the issue price.

Glass Wall Systems is up 70% from its issue price, while Karamtara Engineering is up 44%, Steamhouse India 39%, Kanohar Electricals 38%, Lumino Industries 32% and Rentomojo 30%.

The data also shows that a weak listing did not always mean weak returns. Prasol Chemicals listed 10% below issue price, but is now 4% above its IPO price. Symbiotec Pharmalab listed slightly lower, but is now up 13% from issue price.

At the same time, listing gains have not always survived. Pranav Constructions listed with a 31% gain, but is now 17% below its issue price. LCC Projects also listed with a 31% gain, but is now only 1% above issue price. That shows the listing market has rewarded IPOs, but not blindly.

For NSE, the September record is useful but not fully comparable. Most of the September IPOs were much smaller than NSE's Rs 22,561 crore-plus issue. A large IPO needs far deeper institutional demand to deliver a strong listing pop. It also faces higher supply pressure because more shares are available for trading.

NSE IPO subscription and listing expectations

NSE IPO closed with strong institutional demand. The issue was subscribed 5.71 times on the final day, with the QIB portion subscribed 12.68 times and the non-institutional investor portion subscribed 6.55 times. The retail portion was subscribed 1.39 times.

The issue was entirely an offer for sale of about 12.64 crore shares. NSE will not receive any fresh funds from the IPO.

The concern is the grey market trend. NSE's GMP has cooled to around 2%, much lower than the levels seen when the price band was announced. At a 2% premium over the upper price band of Rs 1,785, the grey market is indicating only a modest listing gain.

Avinash Gorakshakar, Founder and Head Research at Avinash Mentor Research Services, had earlier said the grey market and structural hype point to a positive listing outlook, but investors should manage expectations because of the issue size and lack of a fresh-issue growth engine.

Dr Ravi Singh, Chief Research Officer at Master Capital Services, had also flagged valuation as a watch point. He said NSE is a strong business, but at the upper end of the price band, it is valued at about 43 times FY26 earnings. He also pointed out that options transaction fees form a large part of NSE’s operating revenue, making regulatory changes and participation trends important.

Data: Ritesh Presswala

Disclosure: This article has been written by Podishetti Akash, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Podishetti Akash and her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclosures here.