BLS E-Services IPO Lists 125.93% higher, then hits upper circuit

Bumper listing for BLS E-Services IPO, then hits 20% upper circuit

BLS E-Services IPO had a robust listing on 06th February 2024, listing at a robust premium of 125.93% on the NSE but on top of that managed to close with smart gains over the listing price, hitting the 20% upper circuit on listing day. The stock of BLS E-Services Ltd closed the day at ₹366 per share, a premium of 20% over the listing price of ₹305 per share and a premium of 171.11% over the IPO issue price of ₹135 per share. Certainly, the IPO allottees of BLS E-Services IPO would be pleased at the way the stock managed to close in the positive on the day and also hit upper circuit, although the positive vibes from the Nifty and the Sensex helped them along the way.

The pattern was exactly similar on the BSE also, with the stock opening at a premium and then hitting upper circuit for the day. On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the stock of BLS E-Services Ltd opened at ₹309 per share, a premium of 128.89% over the IPO issue price of ₹135 per share. For the day, the stock closed on the BSE at ₹370.75, an overall premium of 19.98% on the IPO listing price of ₹309 per share and also a hefty premium of 174.63% over the issue price of ₹135 per share.  On the NSE, the stock of BLS E-Services Ltd closed the listing day at the high price of the day, which also happened to be the upper circuit price of the day. On the BSE also, the stock of BLS E-Services Ltd closed the day at the upper circuit, after opening at a smart premium on 06th February 2024.

Stock gains amidst strong show by benchmark indices

While the closing price of BLS E-Services Ltd on 06th February 2024 was substantially above the IPO issue price on both the stock exchanges, it did also hit the upper circuit on both the stock exchanges. In fact, the stock closed above the listing price on the NSE and the BSE. However, it must be remembered that this was helped by a strong performance by the Nifty and the Sensex during the day, although that is not to take away from the stock performance. It was a day of robust listing and then hitting the upper circuit.

On 06th February 2024, the Nifty closed 158 points higher while the Sensex closed 455 points higher. On both the exchanges, it was more an example of the indices bouncing cautiously after the fall yesterday. The markets also showed positive traction ahead of the monetary policy announcement on February 08, 2024; with a lot of expectations from the RBI policy. Last 3 weeks, FPIs were net sellers to the tune of $3.3 billion in Indian equities, but just turned net buyers in the lates week. However, the volatility in recent days in the market had little impact on the stock of BLS E-Services Ltd as it closed above the IPO issue price and the listing price on both the stock exchanges.

IPO subscription and pricing details

The stock had reported strong subscription in the IPO. The subscription was 162.38X  overall and QIB subscription was at 123.30X. In addition, the retail portion had got subscribed 236.53X in the IPO while the HNI / NII portion also got a heavy subscription of 300.05X. Hence the listing was expected to be relatively strong for the day. However, while the listing was modest, the performance strength got reinforced during the trading day as the stock closed at the upper circuit price. While the stock was volatile on both the stock exchanges during the day, it stayed off the upper and lower circuits in trading on 06th February 2024.

The IPO price was fixed at the upper end of the band at ₹135 per share which was anyways along expected lines considering the relatively strong subscription in the IPO. The price band for the IPO was ₹129 to ₹135 per share. On 06th February 2024, the stock of BLS E-Services Ltd listed on the NSE at a price of ₹305 per share, a premium of 125.93% over the IPO issue price of ₹135 per share. On the BSE also, the stock listed at ₹309, a premium of 128.89% over the IPO issue price of ₹135 per share. Here is the BLS E-Services Ltd listing story on 06th February 2024.

How the stock of BLS E-Services Ltd closed on both exchanges

On the NSE, BLS E-Services Ltd closed on 06th February 2024 at a price of ₹366 per share. That is a first day closing premium of 171.11% on the issue price of ₹135 and also a premium of 20.00% on the listing price of ₹305 per share. In fact, the listing price turned out to be very close to the low price of the day. The stock rallied and hit the upper circuit price early in the day and stayed locked in upper circuit for most part of the day. On the BSE also, the stock closed at ₹370.75. That represents a first day closing premium of 174.63% above IPO issue price of ₹135 and a premium of 19.98% above BSE listing price of ₹309 per share.

On both the exchanges, the stock listed strongly above the IPO issue price and also managed to close Day-1 rallying higher, exactly at the upper circuit. There are some key points to note here. Normally, the mainboard IPOs have a circuit filter of 20% either ways; unlike the SME IPOs where the circuit filter is fixed at 5%. In the case of BLS E-Services Ltd, the circuit filters were fixed at 20% either ways. The stock was admitted in the normal segment under the regular T+1 settlement cycle on both the stock exchanges. On this segment, not just delivery, but even intraday speculative trades are permitted on the counter from the first day of trading itself. On the NSE, the stock closed with open unmet buying quantity of 5,89,602 shares, showing a lot of pent up buying pressure for the stock on the listing day. Similar sentiments were echoed on the BSE also.

Price volume story of BLS E-Services Ltd on the NSE

The table below captures the opening price discovery in the pre-open period on the NSE.

Data Source: NSE

Let us look at how the stock traversed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on 06th February 2024. On Day-1 of listing, BLS E-Services Ltd touched a high of ₹366 per share on the NSE and a low of ₹303.10 per share. The premium to the listing price sustained through most part of the day. While the low price of the day was just below opening price of the day, the high price was locked in at the 20% upper circuit. Mainboard IPOs normally have a circuit limits of 20%, and in this case, the stock was admitted to the normal trading settlement cycle of T+1 and also being in the normal cycle, the intraday and delivery trades were permitted on the counter.

For the day on the NSE, the upper circuit price was ₹366 per share while the lower circuit price was ₹244 per share. During the day, the high price of the day at ₹366 was exactly at the upper band price while the low price of the day at ₹303 per share was marginally below the listing price of the day, but well above the lower band price for the day at ₹244 per share. On Day-1 of listing, the BLS E-Services Ltd stock traded a total of 499.66 lakh shares on NSE amounting to value of ₹1,687.34 crore (traded turnover) during the day.  The order book during the day showed a lot of back and forth with the bias clearly in favour of the buyers, with very little genuine profit booking visible even towards the end of the trading session. The stock closed the day with pending buy orders of 5,89,602 shares on the NSE, showing pent-up buying.

Price volume story of BLS E-Services Ltd on the BSE

Let us look at how the stock traversed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on 06th February 2024. On Day-1 of listing, BLS E-Services Ltd touched a high of ₹370.75 per share on the BSE and a low of ₹302.75 per share. The premium to the listing price sustained through most part of the day. While the low price of the day was just below opening price of the day, the high price was locked in at the 19.98% upper circuit. Mainboard IPOs normally have a circuit limits of 20%, and in this case, the stock was admitted to the normal trading settlement cycle of T+1 and also being in the normal cycle, the intraday and delivery trades were permitted on the counter.

For the day on the BSE, the upper circuit price was ₹370.75 per share while the lower circuit price was ₹247.20 per share. During the day, the high price of the day at ₹370.75 was exactly at the upper band price while the low price of the day at ₹302.75 per share was marginally below the listing price of the day, but well above the lower band price for the day at ₹247.20 per share. On Day-1 of listing, the BLS E-Services Ltd stock traded a total of 58.32 lakh shares on BSE amounting to value of ₹205.06 crore (traded turnover) during the day.  The order book during the day showed a lot of back and forth with the bias clearly in favour of the buyers, with very little genuine profit booking visible even towards the end of the trading session. The stock closed the day with pending buy orders of 1,59,012 shares on the BSE, showing pent-up buying.  

Market capitalization, free float, and delivery volumes

Volumes on the BSE were generally lower than on the NSE, but the trend was once again the same. The order book through the day showed a lot of strength and that almost sustained till the close of trading session, with no hints of offloading even towards the latter part of the trading session. The spike in the Nifty and the Sensex also helped the stock of BLS E-Services Ltd along the way. On the NSE, out of the total 499.66 lakh shares traded during the first day of trading, the deliverable quantity represented 124.59 lakh shares or a deliverable percentage of 24.93% on the NSE. That shows low delivery volumes and implies a high level of speculative trading on the counter on listing day.

Even on the BSE, out of the total 58.32 lakh shares of quantity traded, the delivery volumes represented 19.28 lakh shares or 33.06% delivery volumes. This is lower than average but higher than NSE delivery percentage. Being a regular mainboard segment stocks, the stock of BLS E-Services Ltd traded in the normal segment with 20% circuit filters, either ways. This permits speculative and delivery trading even on the day of listing.

At the close of Day-1 of listing, BLS E-Services Ltd had a market capitalization of ₹3,368.50 crore with free-float market cap of ₹505.28 crore. BLS E-Services Ltd has issued capital of 908.56 lakh shares with a par value of ₹10 per share. The ratio of market cap to issue size (a sign of market liquidity creation) was 10.83X.