Adani group stocks: Retail investors, unfazed by Hindenburg-led selloff, upped stakes in 8 Adani cos in Q4

A scathing report by Hindenburg Research alleging “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud for decades” at Adani group companies might have eroded over $100 billion in Adani group's market capitalisation, but small retail investors took it as an opportunity to lap up eight group stocks, probably in hopes of making a killing.

Unfazed by the drama that unfolded post the forensic short-seller Hindenburg Research’s report, including the withdrawal of India's biggest ever follow-on public offering, Sebi probe on Adani group's offshore deals, selling of stake by promoters in a few Adani companies and slowing down of pace of few projects, among others, retail investors showed faith and upped stakes by over 100 basis points in a handful of group companies in the quarter gone by.

Meanwhile, domestic mutual funds have trimmed stakes in a couple of Adani firms during the same period. 

Individual investors, who own less than Rs 2 lakh worth shares, upped stake in the group flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd to 3.41 per cent in the March quarter from 1.86 per cent in the December quarter. They doubled down on Adani Green Energy investments, as they ended up owning 2.33 per cent stake in the Adani company as on March 31, which was more than double the 1.06 per cent stake they held as on December 31.

In Adani Ports & SEZ, retail holding went up to 4.1 per cent from 2.86 per cent sequentially. Retail holding in Ambuja Cements jumped to 7.23 per cent from 5.52 per cent while it soared to 17.54 per cent in NDTV from 14.11 per cent QoQ.

Adani Transmission saw retail holding rising to 1.36 per cent from 0.77 per cent. In Adani Wilmar, retail holding moved up to 9.49 per cent from 8.94 per cent. Meanwhile, retail investors also increased stake in Adani Total Gas to 2.39 per cent from 1.55 per cent YoY.

MFs trimmed exposure

Data showed mutual funds cut stake in Adani Ports by 134 basis points to 3.09 per cent or 6,67,29,749 shares at the end of March quarter from 4.43 per cent or 9,56,91,283 shares at the end of December quarter.

In Ambuja Cements, MF stake dropped 199 basis points to 5.80 per cent in the March quarter from 7.79 per cent sequentially. In the flagship Adani Enterprises, the MF stake dropped below 1 per cent to 0.87 per cent in the March quarter from 1.19 per cent in the December quarter.

In Adani Green Energy, MF stake was marginally reduced to 0.09 per cent from 0.12 per cent. Mutual funds' stake in Adani Total Gas and Adani Transmission remained insignificant. A few of the Adani group companies are yet to announce their quarterly shareholding patterns.

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