Max Financial Shares Touch Record High As Citi Initiates 'Buy'

The share price of Max Financial Services Ltd. rose as high as 1.53% to touch an all time high after Citi Research initiated coverage for the company with a 'buy' rating and a target price of Rs 1,840.

Citi projects a sturdy delivery of operating Return On Embedded Value or ROEV for the insurance company, along with scale up in partnerships and product innovation.

The research firm expects operating ROEV to remain strong at 17-18% over the medium term, "as such, operating ROEV is likely to outpace HDFC Life’s and ICICI Prudential Life’s operating ROEV over the medium term", stated the report.

Axis Max Life Insurance is a key operational subsidiary for Max Financial and the company is planning to reverse merge its operational entity into the parent at a later stage, which could be a major headwind according to Citi.

However, the brokerage firm believes that Max Financial is positioned well to gain market share noting that the Annual Premium Market or APE share revived to 6.9% in fiscal 2025 after dipping in fiscal 2023. Moreover, diversified product and channel strategy enhances its ability to successfully navigate cycles.

The scrip rose as much as 1.53% to Rs 7,947.50 apiece, before paring gains to trade 0.99% higher at Rs 7,905 apiece, as of 9:40 a.m. This compares to a 0.29% decline in the NSE Nifty 50.

It has risen 27.23% on a year-to-date basis, and 102.98% in the last 12 months. The relative strength index was at 79.

Out of 24 analysts tracking the company, 21 maintain a 'buy' rating, two recommend a 'hold' and one suggests 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies an upside of 1.5%.