e-NAME on test drive

After having mopped up close to 10 per cent of the equity of MRF Tyres a couple of weeks, the e-NAME brokerage has set the counter into play. While part of the stock would have been offered to some clients, e-NAME would still be holding on to a sizeable chunk, which enables them keep a grip on the counter. Even as e-NAME is spinning the valuation theory to attract investors to the counter, the company management must be shifting uncomfortably in their seats. In one of the media reports, the management had said that it did not fear a takeover threat as a result of the move by e-NAME.

But one never knows if there are other aggressive players who feel that the scrip price is undervalued and they should be doing something on behalf of the shareholders.

Deal street
A chunk of around 1.5 million shares of HDFC Bank changed hands on Tuesday, with the identity of the players involved yet to be ascertained. Till a few weeks back, an NRI stake holder in the company, who holds a significant chunk of the equity for an individual investor, is reported to have been regularly offloading shares.

Till last week, the Singapoori Sarkar was a seller at the counter. Unlike counters like Infosys and Satyam, where one can ride the momentum, HDFC Bank does not offer much scope for sharp moves. So, it is unlikely that SS could have rebuilt his position. Among the recent buyers at the counter has been the Life Boat Fund. As many as three institutional buyers are reported to have picked up the entire lot on Tuesday, even as further details are awaited.

Reverse swing
Small Daddy and Cane Bank Off Shore’s sales at the ACC counter on Monday did not seem to have made much of an impact judging by the sharp upswing in prices today. In all, close to 8-10 lakh shares were dumped which seem to have been absorbed without much fuss on Tuesday. The Numero Uno and e-NAME brokerages figure among the research houses with a strong buy recommendation on the stock. Meanwhile, after having aggressively sold Infosys Technologies shares last week, Singapoori Sarkar seems to be back in the queue at the counter to buy stock, having picked up close to a lakh of shares on Monday. The fund is also reported to have picked up close to one million shares of Satyam on the same day, even as it steadily continues to offload HLL shares.

Trivia
Even as hotel and tourism related companies worldwide are struggling to come to to grip with the sudden drop in tourist traffic, volumes at the Indian Hotel counter has steadily been on the rise. There has not been any significant development at the counter in the recent past to merit a sudden buying interest. Of course, some value investor would be using the current downtrend to add to his position at the counter, or it could be the creeping effect as well. Meanwhile, investors at the M&M counter seem to have been disheartened by the BSE decision to drop the scrip from the sensex with effect from January next year.

The scrip fell further today, even as the volumes in the last two sessions do not point to aggressive institutional offloading. Around 6-8 million shares were reported to have been picked up by various institutional investors between Rs 68- Rs 90 levels. It would all the players some time to move out even if they have been disappointed by the BSE move.

— Santosh Nair , santoshnair@myiris.com