Despite the big-bang announcements at RIL’s AGM last Wednesday, including roping in Google as an investor in Jio Platforms, the RIL stock ended the day about 4 per cent lower. While it recouped most of the loss over the week, investors seem edgy. Why? One, the RIL stock has more than doubled since March-end, thanks to the stake sale deals in Jio Platforms and the rights issue.
This saw the stock’s trailing 12-month price-to-earnings shoot up to 30 times compared with its three-year average of 19 times. The market already seems to be assigning to RIL the lofty valuations of global tech majors in the hope that Jio Platforms will soon launch its IPO.
No hint about this in the AGM may have been a dampener. Also, there was no word about RIL’s possible acquisition of Future Retail. The delay in the deal to sell stake in the oil-to-chemicals business to Saudi Aramco also weighed in. Finally, investors expecting a bonus ‘reward’ did not get one. That may have added to the disappointment in the stock that has been priced-to-perfection.