IRCTC shares hit 52-week high, picked steam in two months; what technical charts say

Shares of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) hit their 52-week high in early trade today. The railway stock has gained momentum in the last two months, rising 42% during the period. IRCTC shares climbed 1.89% to a high of Rs 958 on Friday against the previous close of Rs 940.20 on BSE. The railway stock opened higher at Rs 948.95. Total 1.96 lakh shares of the firm changed hands amounting to a turnover of Rs 18.69 crore on BSE. Market cap of IRCTC rose to Rs 76,124 crore.

IRCTC stock has a one-year beta of 0.3. This signals the stock has low volatility.

In terms of technicals, the relative strength index (RSI) of IRCTC stands at 76.2, signaling it's trading in the overbought territory. The large cap stock is trading higher than the 5 day, 10 day, 100 day, 150 day and 200 day moving averages.

The IRCTC stock fell to a 52-week low of Rs 557.15 on March 29, 2023.

Shiju Koothupalakkal - Technical Research Analyst, Prabhudas Lilladher said, “The stock has witnessed a decent rally in the last two months. Recently, after the short consolidation has picked up fresh momentum from Rs 890 levels to make fresh high of Rs 951 levels with overall trend still maintained strong and further near-term target of Rs 960 and Rs 1020 levels expected in the coming days. The near-term support would be maintained near Rs 910 zone and with indicators well placed, we expect further rise with much upside potential visible.

Deven Mehata, Equity Research Analyst at Choice Broking said, “IRCTC is trading comfortably above its short-term (20 Day), medium-term (50 Day), and long-term (200 Day) Exponential Moving Averages (EMA). This indicates that the stock is maintaining a robust position and that the trend is likely to continue in the near future. One important factor to note is the establishment of a strong support level around Rs 875, which is also close to its 20 Day EMA a level. This indicates that there is solid buying interest at this level, making it less likely for the stock to fall below this price point. This support level adds further strength to the bullish trend. There is a minor resistance level noted near Rs 950 levels, and if the stock manages to break through this resistance, it could pave the way for further gains. The target for IRCTC is set at Rs 990 levels and beyond if this resistance level is breached.”

Abhijeet from Tips2trades said, "IRCTC stock price is bullish but also very overbought on the Daily charts with next resistance at Rs 959. Investors should book profits at current levels as a daily close below support of Rs 907 could lead to target of Rs 820 in the near term."

IRCTC logged a 30.4% rise in net profit at Rs 294.7 crore in the September 2023 quarter compared to Rs 226 crore in the corresponding period last year. Revenue from operations climbed 23.5 per cent to Rs 995.3 crore compared to Rs 805.8 crore in the year-ago period.

On the operating front, the company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in the September quarter came in at Rs 366.5 crore, clocking a growth of 20.2 per cent, compared to Rs 304.9 crore in the same period last year.

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