Good Bad and Ugly: Most talked about IPOs of FY 19-20

Every year, there are new companies which get listed in the stock markets to raise funds for their operations. Not all of these companies are successful. Some give great returns on their listing prices whereas others fail the investors. In the financial year 2019-20 there were many companies who tried their luck on the markets. While some like Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited out rightly failed and gave a negative return of up to 90% (as per stock prices till 28th March 2020), some IPOs such as IRCTC rocked the charts and gave exceedingly good returns.

Among the listings which were affected by the Coronavirus outbreak was SBI Card IPO whose subscription was open from March 2 to March 5. This IPO was affected by the Coronavirus outbreak and the disruptions caused due to the same.

As the spectrum of IPOs which were listed in 2019-20 is quite wide, let us look at the good, bad and ugly IPOs of the bygone financial year.

The Good

1. IRCTC – This company- the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation was the biggest hit in the primary markets for the financial year 2019-2020. The stock price as listed at Rs. 320 and saw a rally of 192% in the financial year.

2. Indiamart Intermesh - This is an e-commerce company which has seen the second highest gains since it was opened for subscription and was subsequently listed on the secondary markets on 4th July 2019. The stock has given an 87% gain on listing price (as on 28th March)  

3. Metropolis Healthcare – a diagnostic chain reaped the benefit of the Coronavirus and gave a gain of upto 69% on its listing price. The company even distributed dividend to its shareholders in February, which shows a strong position of the company.

The Bad

1. SBI Card IPO – The story of the SBI card IPO is indeed a sad one, as the company’s grey market valuation before its price opening was at a premium. However, the IPO was listed on the secondary markets alongside the spreading of Coronavirus in India, which led to the share prices going on a discount. As a result, the share price of the company is trading below its listing price.

2. Ujjivan Small Finance Bank – Investors had high hopes from this IPO as well. However, the Coronavirus led turmoil led to the share prices of this stock also falling below its listing price which was at Rs. 36 per share. The stock has fallen below Rs. 25 per share.

The Ugly

1. Sterling and Wilson Solar – While there is a lot being done for sustainable energy and green power. Working in this direction, the IPO of Sterling and Wilson Solar was listed this year in August 2019, in which the opening price was at Rs. 775-780 per share. However, as per current market situation, the stock has dropped below Rs. 100 per share. The drop has been upto 90% from its initial listing price.

2. Prince Pipes and Fittings Limited – The share price of Prince Pipes and Fitting too saw a drastic fall in the past financial year. The stock was listed at a price of Rs. 178 per equity share. However, it is currently trading around Rs. 100 per share.

While these seven stocks are the ones which created waves in the primary market in 2019-20, there are many new ones which are scheduled to create ripples in the primary market in FY2021. Among them is the world’s one of the famous fast food chain Burger King. However, it’s IPO has reportedly been postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

There are various ways in which you can invest in IPOs.

IPOs often give people an opportunity to invest in companies at their initial stage on the markets. A company with strong fundamentals and healthy growth prospects can help investors in wealth generation in long term. A good stock market advice can help in reaping the benefits of these listings and growing wealth.

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