Vodafone Idea Share Price Surges Over 4% After Kumar Mangalam Birla Buys Stake

Vodafone Idea Share Price: The shares of Vodafone Idea Ltd surged over 4% to hit an intra-day high of Rs 11.62  apiece on Monday, February 9, after Kumar Mangalam Birla bought additional stake in the telecom major over the last week.

The Chairman of Aditya Birla Group in total bought 4.09 crore shares in between January 30 and February 1 through the open market.

Of this, 2.21 crore shares were acquired on January 30 at an average price of Rs 10.95 per share, while the other tranche consisting 1.88 crore shares were bought on February 1 at ₹11.13 apiece.

According to the latest shareholding pattern data, Kumar Mangalam Birla held 0.02% stake in Vodafone Idea, or nearly 1.94 crore shares, meanwhile, the promoter group collectively held 25% stake in the Gandhinagar-headquartered telecom operator.

Vodafone Idea shares ended at Rs 11.13 apiece on Friday, February 6. 

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Emkay Global Bullish on Vodafone Idea

Brokerage major Emkay Global Financial Services upgraded its rating on Vodafone Idea shares to 'add' from 'sell', while also doubling its target price on the backs of an improved company outlook. The brokerage house has raised Vodafone Idea share price target to ₹12 per share from ₹6 earlier.

"We raise the target to Rs 12 (from Rs 6). Key risks: Inability to i) increase subscriber market share; ii) significantly increase ARPU with tariff repair, and iii) upgrade the subscriber base from 2G to 4G/5G," it noted. 

The change in ratings stance comes post the centre approved a major moratorium for Vodafone Idea’s AGR liabilities, with minimal annual payments until FY35.

"Continued migration to data, rising usage, and tariff repair provide scope for ARPU-led Ebitda expansion, in our view, even without aggressive subscriber additions. Factoring in these changes, we raise our FY27/FY28 revenue by 5 per cent/4.9 per cent and Ebitda by 5.4 per cent/4.2 per cent," as per the brokerage firm.