Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund Offloads 4.5 Cr Shares Of Zomato In INR 621 Cr Block Deal

Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund on Monday (January 15) offloaded 4.5 Cr shares of foodtech major Zomato via an open market transaction.

As per the NSE data, the mutual fund sold the shares at a price of INR 138.15 apiece in a block deal of INR 621.6 Cr. 

As per the foodtech giant’s shareholding data, Motilal Oswal Flexi Cap Fund held 15.94 Cr shares or 1.86% stake in Zomato at the end of December quarter of 2023.

The shares that flooded the market were lapped up by BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Societe Generale. 

While Societe Generale picked up 3.3 Cr shares at INR 138.15 apiece, Goldman Sachs Investments (Mauritius) acquired 45 Lakh shares at the same price. 

Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) bought 39 Lakh shares, Citigroup Global Markets (Mauritius) purchased 24 Lakh shares and BNP Paribas Arbitrage lapped up 12 Lakh shares, all at INR 138.15 apiece. 

Amid the block deal, shares of Zomato fell nearly 3% during early trading on Monday. Eventually, the stock ended the session 4.44% lower at INR 133.40 on the BSE. 

The development comes close on the heels of brokerages HSBC, Goldman Sachs and Jefferies raising their price targets (PTs) on Zomato on expectations of strong growth in its food delivery and quick commerce verticals.

While Goldman Sachs hiked its PT on Zomato to INR 160 from INR 130 earlier, Jefferies increased the price target to INR 190 from INR 165 earlier. HSBC also raised the target for the stock to INR 150 per share from INR 140 previously.

Zomato reported its maiden profitable quarter in Q1 FY24 and followed it up with a profitable Q2. Its profit after tax (PAT) rose 18X to INR 36 Cr in the September quarter from INR 2 Cr in the preceding quarter.

The profitable numbers have resulted in a sharp rally in the share price of the Deepinder Goyal-led startup over the last year or so. The stock has surged 150.52% in the past one year, while it has grown 7.84% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis. 

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