The PC Jewellers stock continued to trade lower for the eighth straight session on Wednesday. The stock has lost 61.77% during the last eight days. At 12:59 pm, the stock was down 23% or 33 points to 114 level on BSE. The stock hit a fresh 52 week low of 110 level on BSE today. The stock has delivered year to date returns of -75% and fallen more than 46 percent during the last one year. The market capitalisation of the mid cap stock stands at Rs 5718 crore.
Even the news of share buyback on April 29, 2018 failed to enthuse investors. A day after the announcement, the stock hit a fresh 52-week low of 153.20.
On January 16, 2018, the stock touched its yearly high of 600.65 level. Since then, the stock has fallen more than 81% on BSE.
The company has been mired primarily in two issues.
First, there has been speculation that the company's promoters might have held back information on a business relationship with e-governance service provider Vakrangee, a company, which according to reports came under Sebi's scanner for alleged price and volume manipulations of its own stock on BSE and NSE. However, Vakrangee on February 3 clarified that rumours of involvement of company in price and volume manipulation were completely baseless and factually incorrect.
On January 25, 2018, Vakrangee bought 20 lakh shares of PC Jeweller at Rs 561.71 on NSE.
Secondly, according to reports, PC Jewellers promoter Padam Chand Gupta gifted some his stake to family members via off -market transactions. Even as the firm has said it would make requisite disclosures in this regard from time to time, there are fears about more such deals taking place in the future. Meanwhile, the firm in a notice informed the BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on May 25, 2018, inter alia, to:
d. consider the proposal for buy back of fully paid-up equity shares of the Company.
The board members, PC Jeweller said, will also consider recommendation of dividend on preference shares for the period from April 1, 2017 to September 1, 2017, and recommendation of dividend, if any, on equity shares for the financial year 2017-18.
"In view of the same in terms of the Company's "Code of Conduct to Regulate, Monitor and Report Trading by Insiders", the Trading Window for trading in the shares of the Company shall remain closed from April 30, 2018 to May 27, 2018 (both days inclusive)," PC Jeweller further said in its filing on Sunday.
PC Jeweller Limited is engaged in the business of manufacture, retail and export of jewellery. It offers a range of products including 100% hallmarked gold jewellery, certified diamond jewellery and other jewellery, including silver articles, with a focus on diamond jewellery and jewellery for weddings.
Established in 2005, PC Jeweller is the second-largest listed jewellery retailer in India.