PATANJALI

Patanjali Foods shares tumbled as much as 18% on July 15 to hit a fresh 52-week low after a 1.5% equity stake worth around Rs 195 crore changed hands through block deals. According to market data, nearly 54.24 lakh shares were traded in block deals at an average price of Rs 355 apiece, taking the total transaction value to approximately Rs 195 crore. The stock was trading 17% lower at Rs 337.6 apiece in early trade, extending its losses for a third consecutive session. It touched a 52-week low of Rs 328.2 during the session, well below its 52-week high of Rs 653.93. The sharp decline was accompanied by heavy trading activity, with more than 2.3 crore shares changing hands, compared with the stock's 20-day average daily volume of about 25 lakh shares. Delivery volumes also surged, indicating significant institutional participation rather than purely intraday trading. As of June 30, the promoter and promoter group held a 68.25% stake in the company. Among institutional investors, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) owned 9.13%, GQG Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund held 2.89%, while Jainam Broking held a 1.27% stake. According to Bloomberg data, Patanjali Foods has declined 27% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming the benchmark Sensex, which has fallen 6.3% during the same period. The stock has slipped 3.5% over the last five trading sessions and is down 7.2% over the past month. Bloomberg data also showed the stock is currently trading at about 25 times its estimated earnings for the next 12 months and 24 times trailing earnings. It is valued at 3.3 times its book value and offers a trailing 12-month dividend yield of 1.1%.