Retail Investors' Stake In Paytm More Than Doubles

Paytm owner One97 Communications on Thursday posted a shareholding update which showed that retail shareholders have more than doubled their stake in the company.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has also increased its stake in Paytm from 1.57 to 1.71 per cent in the quarter ended March 2022, according to the regulatory filing.

Foreign Portfolio Investors' shareholding more than halved in the company to 4.42 per cent in March 2022 quarter compared to 9.36 per cent stake held by them in December 2021 quarter.

The updated shareholding pattern shows retail investors shares in the company increased to 5,00,42,638 in March 2022 quarter, representing 7.72 per cent stake from 2,26,52,322 shares (3.49 per cent) in December 2021 quarter.

In April, top mutual fund houses and asset management companies that have bought new shares of One97 Communications included SBI Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential MF, LIC Mutual Fund, IDBI Mutual Fund, IDFC Mutual Fund, DSP BlackRock MF, Edelweiss MF, L&T Mutual Fund, Nippon India MF and UTI Mutual Fund.

In line with the global fintech stocks rout seen in major tech companies, Paytm has also witnessed some foreign investors leaving the company's shareholding.

Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma had recently expressed confidence that the company will achieve operating EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) break-even in the next six quarters.

The company came out with the Initial Public Offering (IPO) late last year with the issue price of Rs 2,150 per share. However, the scrip has since taken a beating on the bourses and even touched an all-time low of Rs 520 apiece.

Early this month, Sharma had said that the shares of Paytm declined significantly due to volatile market conditions for high growth stocks.

Paytm shares on Thursday closed at Rs 641.25 apiece on the BSE, up by 0.26 per cent compared to its previous close.