Tata Motors Shares Fall 5% As Jaguar Land Rover Sales Volumes Disappoint

Shares of India's Tata Motors Ltd fell as much as 4.6% on Monday after the automaker reported lower-than-expected wholesale volumes for its Jaguar Land Rover business, prompting brokerage J.P. Morgan to downgrade the stock over the weekend.

Tata Motors late on Friday said its Jaguar Land Rover wholesale volumes - excluding its joint venture in China - were 75,307 for the second quarter, while it had in August, projected wholesale volumes to be around 90,000.

The automaker, among the largest in the country, blamed lower-than-expected supply of specialised chips from one supplier for failing to meet its target.

However, it said new deals with semiconductor suppliers would lead to improved sales in the second half of the fiscal year.

"We would need more clarity on the pace of production recovery at Jaguar Land Rover to turn constructive on the stock," J.P. Morgan analyst Amyn Pirani wrote in a note, downgrading the rating on Tata Motors to "neutral" from "overweight."

The brokerage also lowered its price target to 455 Indian rupees ($5.52) from 525 Indian rupees. Shares were last down 3.8% at 396.4 Indian rupees on Monday.

Current average rating among 30 analysts covering the stock was "buy" and median price target was 530 Indian rupees, according to Refinitiv.

($1 = 82.3680 Indian rupees)