65,000% in a year! How long before the penny stock bubble bursts?

Synopsis

Shares of 200 obscure penny and micro-cap companies surged up to 65,000% in the past year. This rise reflects heightened investor interest despite these firms having limited earnings. Sri Adhikari Brothers Television's stock rose from ₹3 to ₹2,198. Sebi has suspended Bharat Global Developers' trading due to financial statement misrepresentation.

Mumbai: Ahmedabad-based Bharat Global Developers isn't the only company that has had its shares shooting up to dizzying levels. The world of little-known penny and micro-cap stocks has been abuzz with activity with shares of at least 200 companies skyrocketing between 300% and an astonishing 65,000% in the past year. The action underscores the heightened appetite among investors for red-hot stocks of companies with limited earnings amid the recent stock market frenzy.

It's not uncommon for stocks to generate exceptional returns in a bull market, like the one in the past four years, but what's unusual is that 99 companies posted net sales of less than ₹10 crore in FY24, a fraction of their total market value.

The top performer in this list is Sri Adhikari Brothers Television, shares of which surged from ₹3 in December last year to ₹2,198 on December 10. The market capitalisation of the company, which posted ₹3 crore turnover and ₹21 crore loss in FY24, stood at ₹4,600 crore. After a share capital reduction, the stock was relisted on April 2, 2024, at ₹41 per share.

Similarly, Marsons, a power transformer maker with ₹6.43 crore turnover and ₹63 lakh profit, rallied 4,478% and now has a market capitalisation of ₹3,765 crore. Aayush Food & Herbs, with a turnover of ₹60 lakh, surged 4,155% in the past year, pushing its market cap to ₹671 crore.

These are among the shares of 36 companies with net sales of less than ₹10 crore that have shot up more than 1,000% in the past year. "The frenzy around obscure small-cap stocks mirrors the 2007 retail excitement before the global financial crisis," said Dhiraj Relli, MD and CEO, HDFC Securities. "Many SMEs and small caps have seen their valuations skyrocket despite no meaningful improvement in business fundamentals."

Shares of Hindustan Appliances, Vantage Knowledge Academy, BITS, Ace Engitech, Oswal Yarns, EPIC Energy, IMEC Services, Ceenik Exports (India), Ahmedabad Steelcraft and Tahmar Enterprises too rallied as much as 1,000% in one year. All these companies had a revenue of less than ₹10 crore in FY24.

On Monday, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) suspended trading in Bharat Global Developers, the shares of which have risen over 10,000% in one year. Sebi's investigation found that the company's financial statements appeared to misrepresent the actual status.

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