
Mankind Pharma IPO: Invest or avoid?
Mankind Pharma, which operates in the domestic pharmaceuticals space, opens its Rs 4300 core IPO today. The issue is priced at a band of Rs 1,026 – Rs 1,080 per share of face value Re.1/-.

Mankind Pharma, which operates in the domestic pharmaceuticals space, opens its Rs 4300 core IPO today. The issue is priced at a band of Rs 1,026 – Rs 1,080 per share of face value Re.1/-.

A 14% fall in INFOSYS (INFY) in just a week is not something that you expect, especially when the index itself fell under 1% over the same period. But then, when markets are disappointed, they don’t cry, they rage.

Multi-asset allocation funds as a category are not easy to use. With funds in the category having the freedom to swing drastically between asset classes, the aspects to consider range from how asset allocation calls are taken, how much the allocation changes, whether this translates into returns, and finally what the taxation is going to be.

Picking a stock in the pharma space is not easy. The businesses are complex and can leave you feeling like you are preparing for a mini-MBBS. What’s more – no two companies are alike. To compound matters, it is also a heavily regulated space (and rightly so) with complex supply chains very often, heavily reliant on China. Not only do most end products have names that sound like tongue twisters but can be governed by complex patent regulations.

After lying low for a while, gold as an asset class has woken up from its long slumber in the last six months. International gold prices, which fell by 3.3% in 2021 and 0.3% in 2022, have gained 9% so far in 2023 (as of April 11) and are up by 20% in the last six months. In India, gold prices recently bounced off a lifetime high of over Rs 61,000/10 grams, having gained 18% in the last six months. This recent run has made investors sit up and take notice of sovereign gold bonds, gold ETFs and other vehicles to own gold. But should you jump on the bullion bandwagon now?

When markets make merry, many stocks have seemingly compelling stories even for entering at peak valuation. And the market is fine with stretched valuations to accommodate such stories. In other words, every market-favoured stock appears to scream – buy me at any price.
But when challenges emerge, the same market starts reacting so sharply that investors who bought into the story midway start making losses. Yes, there isn’t a bigger disaster for stock market investors than earnings and PE multiples contracting together.

The bearish view on the Nifty 50 index shared over the past couple of posts has played out, and the Nifty 50 index hit the target of 16,700-16,900 mentioned earlier. Now, after recording a low of 16,828 on March 20, the index has been on a recovery path. The key question, then, would be – is worst is over for the Nifty 50? As always, we will try to address this question using our favourite charting tools including the breadth indicators.

Prime Funds is our list of recommendations in equity, debt, and hybrid mutual funds that are worth investing in. Prime Funds narrows down your choices from the thousands of funds that there are, into a concise list of funds that span different styles. Prime Funds are selected based on performance, portfolios, and investment strategies.
In this quarter’s review, we have made limited additions to our list of Prime Funds but have some updates to give on performance of the existing funds. We also suggest buckets that are worth entering now. So do read it!

Debt investors have been so starved of good returns lately, that any return above 7% now seems like a grand prize. This is why, after the government recently announced an interest rate of 7.7% per annum on National Savings Certificates (NSC) for the April-June 2023 quarter, there was much jubilation. Apart from warranting a fresh look at the NSC itself, this rate hike promises to significantly lift returns on a Central government-backed instrument – GOI Floating Rate Savings Bonds 2020 (GOI FRSB).

The recent furore surrounding the failure of Silicon Valley Bank in the US has exposed that while banking is a favourite sector with stock market investors, the fragility of the banking business is far from well-understood. Banks are held up as the engines of economic growth. Whichever sector grows, the banking sector ultimately gains. Banks are also accorded a higher valuation than most sectors during bull phases. In good times, banks made up a 40% plus weight in our leading stock market indices.

In February last year, we had issued a buy call on the stock of a premier fashion player housing a vast number of national brands. The steps this company had taken to expand its offering range, a return of focus on margins, and the consumption promise all propelled the call. the stock rallied handsomely as well, post our call.
However, owing to two factors, the stock has since given up nearly 40% from its high and is currently about 25% below our original call price.

Indian markets have corrected about 10% (Nifty 50) from the last peak in December 2022. But many stocks have fallen much more than the bellwether index. This has provided an opportunity to revisit some of our recommended stocks – to either identify averaging opportunities or move them to a BUY from a HOLD.
Hold On
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