Narayana Murthy, family take Rs 6,875 cr hit as Infosys shares enter bear territory

With the Infosys Ltd shares falling sharply for two straight days now, the IT stock has entered bear territory, eroding value for not only its shareholders, but also co-promoter Narayana Murthy and his family. 

On Wednesday, Infosys plunged 5.49 per cent to hit a low of 1,569.35. At this price, the stock is down nearly 22 per cent from its 52-week high of Rs 2,006.80, hit in December 2024. The fresh fall came as a couple of brokerages downgraded the stock amid fears of client indecisiveness due to the slowing US economy and tariff war globally. 

As per data compiled with corporate database AceEquity, five members of NRN's family held 4.02 per cent stake in Infosys worth Rs 26,287.19 crore, incorporating Wednesday's fall. This is down Rs 6,875.70 crore over Rs 33,162.89 crore on December 13, 2024 when the scrip hit one-year high. 

Co-founder and promoter NR Narayana Murthy (NRN) owned 0.40 per cent stake in Infosys, while his wife Sudha N Murty held 0.92 per cent stake in the IT major at the end of December quarter. His son Rohan Murty and daughter Akshata Murty, who is also the wife of ex-UK PM Rishi Sunak, owned 1.62 per cent and 1.04 per cent stakes, respectively, in the second largest software exporter. NRN's grandson Ekagrah Rohan Murty held a marginal 0.04 per cent stake in Infosys as well.

Rohan Murty took Rs 2,771 crore hit, followed by Akshata Murty (Rs 1,778.79 crore) and Subha N Murthy (Rs 1,573.54 crore). Narayana Murthy's notional wealth fell Rs 684 crore to Rs 3,299.79 crore.

To recall, in its Q3 results, Infosys noted that North America had returned to positive growth trajectory after four quarters, growing at 4.8 per cent, while Europe grew at 12.2 per cent YoY in constant currency terms, twice the company level. The IT firm had noted that it was seeing an improvement in Retail and consumer product industry in the US with discretionary pressure easing.

MOFSL on Wednesday said the market expectations of 5-6 per cent constant currency (CC) growth for Infosys could be at risk. It sees growth for TCS coming in lower at 3.5 per cent. 

"Wipro and Infosys (our EPS estimates are 7-10 per cent below consensus for Infosys/Wipro) face correction risk, leading us to downgrade our rating to 'Hold' for Infosys and 'Sell' for Wipro," MOFSL said. 

Morgan Stanley also downgrade Infosys To 'Equal Weight' and suggested a new target price of Rs 1,740 from Rs 2,150 earlier.