Ola Electric Zooms On The Bourses Amid A Mixed Week For New-Age Tech Stocks

New-age tech stocks witnessed a mixed week on the stock exchanges amid new startup listings and many startups making a beeline to go public. Most of the listed startups saw stock specific action in the final week of the Q1 FY25 earnings season.

Eleven of the 26 new-age tech stocks under Inc42’s coverage gained in a range of over 45% to a little under 1% this week. 

Recently listed electric two-wheeler maker Ola Electric emerged as the top gainer this week, with its shares surging 45.59% to end at INR 132.76. Other gainers included Paytm, Delhivery, Awfis, and Nyk2aa. 

On the other hand, 15 startups fell in a range of little under 10% to 0.37%. TBO Tek was the biggest loser this week. Its shares declined 9.23% to end the week at INR 1,572.40. ixigo, Honasa Consumer, and Nazara Technologies were among the other major new-age tech stocks which ended in the red. 

It is pertinent to note that markets were closed on August 15 on the occasion of India’s 78th Independence day. 

Meanwhile, the broader market saw a revival after a short slump this week. While Sensex gained 0.9% this week to end at 80,436.84, Nifty 50 gained 0.7% to end the week at 24,541.15. 

Analysts attributed the market recovery over the week to a trickle down effect of recovery in the global markets. Prashanth Tapse, senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities, said that multiple factors improved the global market sentiment this week. “Positive US economic data like cooling inflation and robust retail sales numbers shrugged off recession fears while talks of a rate cut by the US Fed as early as next month fuelled a mega rally across global equities, including India,” he said. 

Siddhartha Khemka, head of retail research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said that the end of the Q1 FY25 earnings season on a positive note drove the markets recovery this week. 

“We expect the earnings momentum to continue with a steady growth of 15% over the next two years (FY24-26). Softening in US PPI data has raised hopes of rate cuts in the US. Thus, all eyes next week will be on US Fed meeting minutes. Overall, we expect the market to consolidate in a broader range and take cues from global factors,” he said. 

Amid all these, SaaS startup Unicommerce and omnichannel retail brand FirstCry made their market debuts on Tuesday (August 13). Shares of FirstCry’s parent Brainbees Solutions opened at INR 625 on the BSE, a premium of 34.4% to the issue price. Unicommerce listed at INR 230 on the BSE, a premium of 112.96%. Both the startups ended the week higher than their listing prices.

Including the new additions, the total market capitalisation of 28 new-age tech stocks under Inc42’s coverage stood at $77.52 Bn at the end of the week. In comparison, the market capitalisation of 26 new-age tech stocks stood at $72.05 Bn last week. 

Now, let’s take a deeper look at the performance of some of the new-age tech stocks this week. 

Ola Electric’s Big Show

After a flat listing on the BSE, shares of Ola Electric have continued to march upwards on the bourses. After touching the upper circuit of 20% on its listing day last week, shares of Ola Electric ended this week 45.59% higher at INR 132.76. 

Here’s a quick recap of the eventful week for Ola Electric as well as Ola Group: 

– The startup’s net loss rose 30% to INR 347 Cr in the June quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (Q1 FY25) from INR 267 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Meanwhile its operating revenue grew 32% to INR 1,644 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 1,243 Cr in Q1 FY24.

– During Ola’s annual “Sankalp” event, founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal unveiled three new motorcycles under Ola Electric’s portfolio – Roadster X, Roadster, and Roadster Pro. The bikes are priced in the range of INR 74,999 to INR 2,49,999.

– During the event, Aggarwal also revealed cells made at the startup’s Gigafactory. The company is scheduled to integrate these cells in its vehicles by Q1 FY26.

While Ola Electric continues to be riddled with losses, the startup claimed to have recorded the highest sales of its vehicles in Q1. Geojit Financial Services’ senior research analyst Saji John said that despite the loss in FY24, the company seems poised to achieve and enhance profitability in the long-term through improved scalability and vertical integration. 

Post its quarterly results and new product reveals, the startup’s market cap stood at $6.98 Bn at the end of the week. “With the current market share of 38% YTD and robust capex plan, Ola Electric is likely to act as a catalyst for boosting investors’ confidence and could help accelerate the growth and adoption of electric two-wheelers across the country,” John said. 

Nykaa’s Robust Q1 Show

Beauty and fashion ecommerce major Nykaa reported a 152% increase in its consolidated net profit to INR 13.6 Cr in Q1 FY25 from INR 5.4 Cr in the same quarter last year.

Operating revenue grew 22.8% to INR 1,746.1 Cr during the reported quarter from INR 1,421.8 Cr in Q1 FY24.

In a post-earnings call, Nykaa MD and CEO Falguni Nayar attributed the improvement in net profit to recent restructuring efforts and other strategic measures.

As a result of the strong Q1 show, Nykaa’s shares jumped as much as 5.8% to INR 197.35 during the intraday trading session on August 14. The stock ended the week at INR 193.95, witnessing a 1.02% WoW increase. 

Commenting on the stock, Amol Athawale, VP of technical research at Kotak Securities, said that Nykaa’s shares are trading around its 50-day moving average and expected to witness bullish market sentiment. 

“In the short-term time frame, Nykaa is witnessing consolidation. On the higher side, it is witnessing resistance at INR 202-204 and on the lower side 180-185 is the support area. Once it breaches the resistance area, we are of the view that Nykaa’s shares can reach INR 210-215 in the near future,” he said.

TBO Tek Slides Post Q1 Results 

B2B travel portal TBO Tek’s consolidated net profit increased 29% to INR 60.91 Cr in Q1 FY25 from INR 47.3 crore in the same period last year. Operating revenue grew 21% to INR 418.5 Cr during the quarter from INR 344.6 Cr in Q1 FY24. 

TBO Tek’s gross transaction value (GTV) stood at INR 7,940 Cr in Q1, reflecting a 14% year-on-year growth. The hotel segment accounted for 57% of the GTV, while the air segment accounted for 43%. In comparison the hotel and air segments accounted for 46% and 54% of the GTV, respectively, in Q1 2024. 

However, the stock closed at INR 1,572.40 on Friday, with a weekly loss of 9.23%. This was in line with the decline seen in other travel tech companies like Yatra, ixigo, and EaseMyTrip amid rising global tensions.