Jhunjhunwala cuts stake in recently listed stock; check preview & target price

Ace Dalal Street investor Rekha Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has sold more than 1.9 lakh equity shares of Baazar Style Retail, one of the recently listed companies. According to the latest shareholding pattern, Jhunjhunwala reduced here stake in the company in just six months of listing.

Rekha Jhunjhunwala owned 25,32,500 equity shares, or 3.39 per cent stake, in Baazar Style Retail as on March 31, 2025, which indicated that she sold 1,90,620 equity shares of the company between January-March 2025 period. She held 27,23,120 equity shares or 3.65 per cent stake in the company as of December 31, 2024.

Shares of Baazar Style Retail had surged 7.5 per cent during the trading session on Tuesday, but the stock finally settled at Rs 303.70, up 2.27 per cent for the day. The total market capitalization of the company stood at Rs 2,250 crore. Despite a massive 68 per cent from its 52-week low at Rs 181.30 in February 2025, is still 30 per cent below its 52-week high at Rs 430.95.

Bazaar Style Retail raised a total of Rs 834.68 crore via IPO in September, when the company sold its shares for Rs 389 apiece. The stock is currently available 22 per cent below its IPO price. Rekha Jhunjhunwala's current stake in the company is valued at Rs 82.70 crore and she might have sold her shares post mandatory six months lock-in for the pre-IPO investors.

Value fashion players continue to report robust growth driven by both SSSG and store addition (Style Bazaar) while the mid-premium apparel segment is expected to struggle as demand remains impacted due to down-trading by customers, said JM Financial. Baazar Style with cost control measures will result in margin expansion, it said.

"Baazar  Style is the positive outlier leading with robust revenue and PAT growth. We estimate 110 bps YoY ebitda margin expansion in Q4 to 3.3 per cent despite 30bps YoY gross margin contraction led by better operating leverage," JM said with a 'buy' rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 400 on the stock.

Baazar Style Retail is one of the fastest growing value retail players in East India. It caters to the neo-middle class in Tier II and III cities through its 214 stores across nine states and more than 175 cities, with a strong footprint in North and East India. These stores are spread over 9,000 sq ft, contributing to a total retail area of more than 18lk sq. ft. In the last few years.

It has posted a strong SSSG on greater throughput driven by sectoral tailwinds which resulted in a higher operating leverage and better return ratios. It plans to improve throughput and open stores aggressively using internal accruals, said Nuvama. "The stock is a strong candidate for a valuation re-rating on better store economics, aggressive growth plans (adding 40-50 stores/year), and size of the opportunity," it said with a 'buy' rating with a target price of Rs 388.