Column : Dream stocks are disappearing

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Shobhana Subramanian : Sep 14 2012, 01:01 IST

Back in 2008, and even in early 2009, Bharti Airtel was on a roll, signing on subscribers by the minute. Few were willing to believe the story would end and so were reluctant to call a peak for the stock. But after hitting a lifetime high of R574.5 in October 2007 (price adjusted), the Bharti stock has never really regained its sheen and in early August this year it dropped to a near six-year low level of 257. One large and debilitating acquisition abroad, coupled with a regulatory quagmire at home, has completely changed the complexion of the counter.

It’s not just Bharti though, the stock market is littered with examples of darlings turning into disillusionments. Infosys, which listed in 1993, is probably the best example of a spectacular company not able to live up to expectations. It could be the change of guard at the IT major or it could be the challenging global environment but the software giant, reputed for its under-promising and over-delivering, has missed guidance way too many times in the last couple of years. That has cost it its premium valuations and the stock now trades at multiples below that of peer TCS; from a lifetime high of R3,479 in January 2011, the Infosys counter now quotes at levels of R2,500.

Once a must in every portfolio, and a stock that has made so many people wealthy, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has probably been the disappointment of the decade; to the dismay of fund managers, many of

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