In The Charts: Stocks that have seen maximum carnage. What has changed?

In the last six sessions, Indian markets plummeted as the Sensex and Nifty, key indices, both dropped by almost 7%. This stark decline follows a strong rally from April, driven by improving economic conditions and foreign investment. However, in October, high valuations led to significant selling pressure, exacerbated by foreign investors selling off, increasing crude oil prices, and geopolitical tensions. Due to the selling pressure, here are the top ten stocks that have experienced significant declines in the Nifty 500 index.

MMTC Ltd stock has dropped over 37% in the last six sessions. This decline began in mid-October due to reports of the government possibly shutting down its operations. Analysts argue that these public sector units have an outdated core purpose, and it’s not the government’s role to be involved in such businesses. This year, the stock has been a multibagger, gaining over 44 percent. However, in October alone, it lost over 7 percent.

Indraprastha Gas Ltd lost around 20% in the last six sessions due to continued selling pressure. This followed the approval of an electric vehicle (EV) policy by the Delhi government, requiring cab aggregators to transition to EVs gradually and completely by 2030. Jefferies downgraded the stock to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ and lowered its target price to Rs 465 from Rs 565. They anticipate a potential 30% decrease in IGL volumes from FY25 onwards, primarily due to the NCR slowdown, which constitutes 88% of IGL’s volumes. Jefferies also reduced FY25 and FY26 EPS by 7% to 9%, reflecting increased EV risk and a lower valuation multiple.

Jubilant Pharmova has declined 18.8 percent in the last six sessions. Year to date it is down 10 percent. In 2022, the stock was down 36 percent while in 2021 it lost around 22 percent. The firm will announce its earnings on 27 October. According to analysts the company has been consistently disappointing on earnings both in terms of margins and profit growth. Analysts say the company needs stability across its various businesses for the stock to reverse trend. They are bullish on the sterile CDMO and allergy segments (making up 42% of FY23 revenue). However, the low-margin and loss-making areas, such as generics, radio pharmacy , and API (constituting 49% of FY23 sales), are dragging down overall performance, according to them.

BEML Ltd lost 17.5% in the last six sessions due to profit booking. However, in 2023, the stock has rallied 34.3% because of a robust order book of Rs 9800 crore as of June, ensuring revenue generation for the next 2-3 years. This is supported by a strong inflow pipeline in rail, metro, and defense, driven by an indigenization focus, and increased orders for mining equipment in the coal segment, which bodes well for growth prospects, analysts said.

Sunteck Realty Ltd fell by 17% in the last six sessions. The stock started falling following a Q2 loss of Rs 13.9 crore and a 69% YoY revenue drop. Pressure increased as Bruhanmumbai Muncipal Corporation(BMC) sealed construction sites for air pollution violations. It had previously risen by 50% between July and September and gained 19% year-to-date.

Housing & Urban Development Corp Ltd dropped 17% in the last six sessions due to profit booking after a big rally. The stock surged over 100% since April and 42% this year. The government sold 7% stake through an offer for sale (OFS) on October 18-19 at a floor price of Rs 79 per share.

The multibagger stock Usha Martin Ltd has lost around 15.5 percent in the last six sessions amid profit booking. The stock has jumped nearly 1000 percent since January 2021. The company specializes in steel ropes, fitments, and more for mining and offshore industries, as well as conveyor belts. In the late 2000s, it made unfavorable investments in the steel commodity business. During the 2015-17 commodity downturn, it fell into a debt trap, severely impacting its net worth. Two years later, it reduced debt by selling its steel business to Tata Sponge, focusing on profitable steel wire ropes. It now holds a 65% market share in the country and is expanding globally, gaining recognition from investors.

Triveni Turbine Ltd lost around 15 percent in the last six sessions amid profit booking after a huge rally since last year. The stock has given over 100 percent returns since January 2022. Analysts said Triveni Turbine Limited (TTL) impresses with strong growth potential, driven by rising industrial demand for energy-efficient turbines. They’re confident about robust order inflow in FY2024 and anticipate 35% revenue growth in the next couple of years. TTL is well-prepared for high growth, targeting a conservative 20% PBT margin, according to its annual report.

Finolex Industries Ltd has seen a 15% drop in the past six sessions following weak earnings. Meanwhile the stock saw a 30% surge between July and August. September’s earnings were disappointing, with a 6.16% decline in revenue, down to Rs 883.15 crore from Rs 941.13 crore in the previous fiscal period. The PVC manufacturer reported a consolidated profit of Rs 97.96 crore for the September quarter, from a loss of Rs 95.38 crore a year ago. Managing Director Ajit Venkataraman in a CNBC interview expressed concerns about PVC price volatility and its impact on the business in the short term, with PVC prices hitting a low of $750 per metric tonne. However, he is optimistic that growth will rebound once PVC prices stabilize.

ITI Ltd, which had surged over 100% since April and33% in October, recently lost nearly 15% due to profit booking. The company made headlines, recently, by successfully introducing ‘Smaash’ branded laptops and micro-PCs, signaling its entry into the Indian laptop manufacturing market. ITI, a central public sector undertaking under the Department of Telecommunications, has multiple electronic assembly and manufacturing facilities in Bengaluru.