Paytm shares plunge 5% to hit sub-Rs 350 level; stock down for 9th session in row!

One 97 Communications Ltd (Paytm) saw its share falling 5 per cent in Tuesday's trade, taking its losing run for the ninth straight session on NSE. The stock has fallen 13 per cent in the nine-session period. In fact, there has been only two instances in the past one month when the stock settled higher on a closing basis.

On Tuesday, Paytm shares fell 5 per cent to hit lower circuit limit at Rs 333.85 on NSE. President and Chief Operating Officer at Paytm Bhavesh Gupta has moved to advisory position, as a part of overall organisational restructuring, the company said this past weekend.

"The board of directors of the company at its meeting held on May 04, 2024 took note of the resignation tendered by Mr. Bhavesh Gupta, President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company (‘Senior Management Personnel’) vide his letter dated May 04, 2024. His resignation has been accepted by the company and he will be relieved from the services of the company w.e.f. close of business hours on May 31, 2024," Paytm said.

Paytm shares are down 62 per cent in the past six months, thanks to the RBI ban on Paytm Payments Bank's services. In February, Macquarie cut its target price on Paytm to Rs 275 from Rs 650 earlier and said Paytm faced a serious risk of exodus of customers, which significantly jeopardises its monetisation as well as its business model.

That said, mutual funds (MFs) and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) reposed faith in the firm, as they upped stakes in Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led company in the March quarter. Data showed domestic funds upped stake in Paytm by 1.17 percentage points to 6.15 per cent in the March quarter against 4.99 per cent in the December quarter, with buying seen from Mirae Mutual Fund and Nippon India Mutual Fund. FPIs owned 20.64 per cent stake in the company at the end of March quarter against 18.64 per cent in the December quarter, up 2 per cent.

NPCI on March 14 approved onboarding Paytm as a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP) on the multi payment service provider API model. Paytm said it has expedited the integration with Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), and YES Bank, Paytm said recently.

"All four banks are now operational on the TPAP, streamlining the process for Paytm to shift user accounts to these PSP banks. The company has started transitioning ‘@paytm’ handles users to these banks, ensuring seamless UPI payments," Paytm said.