Massive bets by retail investors, mutual funds on Paytm reinforces the stocks' growing stability

New Delhi: India's mobile payments pioneer debuted in the stock market in 2021, which was then the largest initial public offering (IPO) in the country. Over the last one year, the most talked-about stock among the new-age tech stocks had been Paytm.

While there had been ups and downs in the stock's journey since then, the company delivered growth -- retail investors and mutual funds were increasing their shareholding in the company. The latest shareholding pattern of the company reveals that retail stock is up from 2.79 per cent during the time of listing to 6.37 per cent as of the end of September. Meanwhile, the company said mutual funds increased their stake from 0.81 per cent to 1.26 per cent.
This increase in retail shareholding correlates to more Indians further believing in the Paytm story, the company said, adding that the wider shareholding ownership through retail was also going to bring in greater stability to the stocks like Paytm. Historically, companies that have hedged risk with higher retail shareholding have seen growth in the stock market.

As one finds deeper footing in a technology-led world, Paytm stands out as a pioneer. The company has been at the forefront of India's fintech revolution and Paytm Karo has become a verb today, synonymous with mobile payments.
In a scenario of volatile global markets, what's convincing investors was the strong growth delivered since its listing -- with its revenue increasing by 80 per cent per quarter. Earlier in April, its founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma had expressed confidence that the company will achieve operating Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) breakeven by September quarter 2023, and the company has delivered ahead of analyst estimates in the first quarter of the financial year 2022-23 (Q1FY23).

From global brokerages like Goldman Sachs, Citi, JP Morgan to domestic ones like ICICI Securities, analysts were betting on Paytm's strong business model and profitability plan.

Recently, Paytm was added to Goldman Sachs conviction list, where the research firm reiterated that it was one of the most compelling growth stories among new-age technology companies. Analysts at JP Morgan recently said that Paytm was now on the "stairway to profitability", highlighting the company's strong business model and strong monetisation across key businesses. (ANI)