IndiGo Briefly Becomes World's Most Valuable Airline By Market Cap Before Slipping To Second Spot Again

IndiGo briefly became the world's largest airline in terms of market capitalisation on Wednesday, but slipped again to the second spot as the stock of US-based Delta Air Lines Inc. soared after the Wall Street opened.

Earlier on Wednesday, IndiGo's parent entity InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., with a $23.15 billion market cap, had become the largest among its international peers.

The first position was reclaimed by Delta Air Lines, whose market cap surged to $24.42 billion after the US markets opened, as per Bloomberg data. The third place in the space is held by Ryan Air Holdings PLC, which is an Ireland-based company with nearly $21.3-billion market cap.

Delta Airlines' stock surged over 9% in trade on Wednesday, and the company was also was the top gainer in the S&P 500 index. This led to the company regaining its leading position among the other airlines.

Meanwhile, shares of IndiGo on Wednesday rose up to 2.09% during the day on the National Stock Exchange, but pared much of the gain to settle 0.73% higher at Rs 5,194.9 apiece. In comparison, the benchmark Nifty 50 index declined by 0.61%.

The aviation company's stock has risen by 42.92% in the last 12 months and by 14.04% on a year-to-date basis.

Eighteen out of the 23 analysts tracking the airline have a 'buy' rating on its stock, three recommend a 'hold' and two suggest a 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The 12-month analysts' consensus target price on the stock is Rs 5,339.18, implying a potential upside of 2.8%.