Shares of Infosys Ltd. fell the most in four weeks on a report of the IT company lowering average variable pay.
The company scaled back the average variable payout of employees to 70% for the quarter ended June amid contraction in margin and rising employee costs, PTI reported citing people aware of the matter.
According to the PTI report, Wipro Ltd., too, held back variable pay due to margin pressure. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. delayed quarterly variable compensation payout for some employees by a month.
Infosys has yet to respond to BQ Prime's emailed queries.
A TCS spokesperson in a statement said, “We have come across completely incorrect reports on our compensation. Variable pay is either paid in month one or month 2 as per the normal process and there is no delay in this process. 100% VA is being paid for Q1.”
Separately, JPMorgan has downgraded Infosys' stock from 'overweight' to 'neutral'. It kept the target price at Rs 1,600 apiece, an implied upside of 1.55%.
Shares of Infosys fell as much as 2.7% in intraday trade before closing with 2.11% loss, worst day in four weeks. The trading volume was more than 30-day average, when markets closed on Tuesday.
Of the 49 analysts tracking the company, 41 maintain a 'buy', six suggest a 'hold' and two recommend a 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The 12-month consensus target price implies an 11% upside.
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