55 companies see increase in promoter holding since Jan amid market fall

Mumbai: Promoters of at least 55 companies have bought shares of their companies from the open market since January 1 in the wake of stock price declines in the past two months. UPL, HCL Tech, Aarti Pharmalabs, Bajaj Holdings, Quess Corp, Eris Lifesciences, Jindal Saw, Welspun Corp, Sobha, and Zensar Tech are some of the companies that saw promoter purchases in this period, according to deal data on stock exchanges.

Nifty, Mid-cap and Small-cap indices are down between 3% and 5% since January 1. The fall in specific small- and mid-cap stocks have been sharper in the range of 10% to 35%.

In February, promoters of UPL bought 37 lakh shares worth ₹531 crore in the agrochemicals company from open market. They had increased their stakes in the company by 2.29% in the December quarter through several bulk deals.


Shiv Nadar's Vama Sundari Investments purchased 18 lakh shares of HCL Technologies worth ₹199 crore in February. HCL Tech shares, which plunged 22% in 2022, have gained 4% this year.

Promoters of pharma company Aarti Pharmalabs have bought shares worth ₹47 crore, whereas founders of Bajaj Holding and Quess Corp bought shares worth ₹23 crore and ₹20 crore, respectively, in last two months.

Share purchases of promoters are considered among the best signals of value in a company. The logic here is that the promoter knows best about the company's prospects and is aware when it is overvalued or undervalued.

"Market volatility can create a disconnect between share price and a company's fundamentals. It is natural for investors, in general, to take advantage of such opportunities," said Gaurav Dua, head of capital market strategy at Sharekhan. "Promoter investors have a fairly long-term investment horizon and relatively better insight of the business."