Eternal shares jump 7%; Deepinder Goyal gains Rs 600 cr within mins; share price targets

Eternal Ltd shares climbed 7 per cent in Thursday's trade as its December quarter results surprised Street in terms of revenue growth and Ebitda, with Blinkit and Hyperpure achieving Ebitda breakeven much before estimates. Deepinder Goyal, who resigned as CEO of Eternal and will become Vice Chairman, saw his notional wealth surging over Rs 600 crore within minutes, as investors gave thumbs up to Eternal Q3 earnings.

By 9.26 am, Eternal shares surged 7.33 per cent to hit a high of Rs 304.20 apiece on BSE. Goyal, a public shareholder, owned 3.83 per cent stake in Eternal. His stake was worth Rs 11,096 crore in Thursday's trade compared with Rs 10,475 crore on Wednesday, thus seeing Rs 621 crore in notional gains.  

Albinder Dhindsa has been appointed as Group CEO, and founder Deepinder Goyal will transition to the non-executive role. The transition is expected to be smooth, as it elevates a leader with a demonstrated history of scaling a business that now represents the cornerstone of Eternal’s future growth, said JM Financial. 

JM Financial said it maintains its conviction that Eternal's margin expansion will continue, notwithstanding aggressive store expansion plans and ongoing competitive intensity. It reiterated Eternal as its preferred pick with an unchanged December target price of Rs 400.

Nuvama said Deepinder Goyal may retain all responsibilities of CEO albeit without the title of CEO. The move, it said, is intended to avoid potential conflicts as Goyal invests efforts on ventures outside Eternal while continuing to retain his existing responsibilities within Eternal.

Eternal target prices

"Eternal delivered multiple surprises with Blinkit and Hyperpure achieving adjusted EBITDA breakeven much before estimates. Deepinder shall retain all responsibilities of CEO albeit without the title of CEO. We are changing FY26/27E EPS by 41 per cent/2.3 per cent due to higher-than-expected profitability. Maintain ‘Buy’ with a revised target price of Rs 430 (earlier Rs 400) as we roll forward estimates to FY28," Nuvama said.

MOFSL said its target price of Rs 360 on Eternal implies a 27 per cent upside over Wednesday's level. While food delivery  growth is recovering, the pace of normalisation remains gradual, it said. "We expect the EBitda respite in Blinkit to be short-lived as competitive intensity in quick commerce (QC) re-accelerates. We reiterate our Buy rating, supported by Eternal’s market leadership in both QC and FD and the long-term optionality in Blinkit as a generational opportunity in grocery and retail disruption."