IRCTC shares trading above Rs 1,000 mark for 8th straight session; more upside ahead?

Shares of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hit a fresh 52 week high on Friday. IRCTC shares rose 4.18% to a fresh high of Rs 1,065.50 against the previous close of Rs 1022.80 on BSE. Market cap of the firm rose to Rs 84,856 crore. With today’s rally, the railway stock has delivered 51% returns in the last six months. The stock traded above the Rs 1,000 mark for eighth straight session today. In a year, gains from the stock have risen to 81%. Market cap of IRCTC climbed to Rs 84,880 crore.

IRCTC stock has a one-year beta of 0.8. This signals the stock has low volatility. A total of 2.81 lakh shares of the firm changed hands amounting to a turnover of Rs 29.52 crore on BSE.

The stock looks set to breach the Rs 1,100 mark in the short term stock and is currently in a brief consolidation period, said analysts.

Vaishali Parekh - VP Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher believes that the stock can touch the 1150 mark.

"IRCTC is already in a trend with brief consolidation period and strong support level around Rs 970. A decisive break above the resistance at Rs 1050 is anticipated to trigger further upward momentum, with potential targets set at Rs 1100-1150."

Aditya Gaggar Director of Progressive Shares expects the stock to hit Rs 1270 in the near term. "The stock has given a breakout from the Bullish Flag and Pole formation which was confirmed with a falling trendline breakout in RSI and an upsurge in Volume. Trend following indicators are supporting the price movement as MACD is on the verge of giving a positive crossover while a reading of 43 in ADX indicates the presence of a strong uptrend. As per the pattern, the target is Rs 1270. We have already initiated a positional call on the stock on 1st April at Rs 962 for the target of Rs 1034 (achieved) followed by Rs 1106," said Gaggar.

Osho Krishan, Sr. Analyst- Technical and Derivatives Research at Angel One said, "IRCTC has been hovering in a cycle of higher highs – higher lows and is currently placed above all its EMAs, signaling bullish biases. The counter has a strong support near the Rs 950-940 odd zone, which is likely to cushion any short-term blip. While on the higher end of the spectrum, a decisive surge above Rs 1040 is likely to trigger a fresh round of rally toward Rs 1,100- Rs 1,120 in the comparable period. "

In terms of technicals, the relative strength index (RSI) of IRCTC stands at 68, signaling it's trading neither in the overbought nor in the oversold territory. IRCTC stock is trading higher than the 5 day, 10 day, 100 day, 150 day and 200 day moving averages.