Top investors raise stakes in these stocks as broader markets tank in March quarter

Even as the domestic equity markets witnessed heavy volatility during the first quarter of 2025, some of India’s well-known investors spotted an opportunity in the chaos. Market veterans like Anil Kumar Goel, Madhusudan Kela, Ashish Kacholia and Mukul Agrawal raised their stakes in select companies during the March 2025 quarter, signalling renewed confidence in India Inc’s long-term growth story.

The benchmark equity index BSE Sensex declined nearly 1% during January-March 2025. On the other hand, the broader indices BSE MidCap and BSE SmallCap tanked 11% and 15%, respectively, during the same period.

Starting with Mukul Agrawal, known for investing in lesser-known stocks, held more than 2% stake in the SME stock Sahasra Electronic Solutions as of March 31, 2025. His name was not among the key shareholders in the previous quarter. Incorporated in February 2013, Sahasra Electronic Solutions is an electronic system design and manufacturing company that provides electronic system design and manufacturing. Shares of the company got listed on October 4, 2024.

Agrawal also upped stake in Zota Healthcare to 8.3% from 8% in the preceding quarter. His stake was around 6.8% in Zota Healthcare as of March 2024. Shares of the company have gained more than 83% in the past year till April 21, 2025.

Madhusudan Kela, a renowned equity investor and a fund manager, held more than 7% stake in Windsor Machines. He also held 1.7% and 4.6% stake in SG Finserve and Prataap Snacks as of March 31, 2025. His name was not among key shareholders in the previous quarters. Data further highlighted that Kela raised his stake in Indostar Capital to 5% from 2.5% earlier. He also increased his stake in Kopran to 1.5% from 1%.

As many as nine stocks also entered the portfolio of Ashish Kacholia whose equity portfolio stands at nearly Rs 2,600 crore at present. The market watcher held more than 1% stake in Thomas Scott, Concord Control, Infinium Pharmachem, Shree OSFM E-Mobility, Qualitek Labs, Naman In-Store, Z-Tech, C2C Advanced Systems, Quadrant Future Tek. His name was not among key shareholders in the previous quarters. Kacholia also increased his stake in Tanfac Industries (to 1.6% from 1.2% earlier) and Aeroflex Industries (to 1.9% from 1.8%).

Anil Kumar Goel, who is also known for spotting hidden gems in the domestic stock market, increased his stake in Avadh Sugar & Energy to 7.1% from 6.8% earlier. He also hiked stake in Magadh Sugar & Energy to 4.4% from 4.2% and Dalmia Bharat Sugar to 6.5% from 6.4%. He also held more than 1% stake in Ecoplast and DCM Nouvelle as of March 2025. His name was not among the key shareholders in these companies in the previous quarters, data available with Trendlyne showed.

Dolly Khanna, who is also known for picking small and mid-cap stocks that often become multi-baggers, also held more than 1% stake in GHCL and Polyplex Corporation as of March 31, 2025. Khanna was not among major shareholders of the company in the previous quarters. The Chennai-based investor also raised stake in Som Distilleries to 2.4% in the March quarter compared with 1.4% for the quarter ended December 2024. Khanna, whose portfolio is managed by her husband Rajiv Khanna, also raised stake in Prakash Industries (to 2.1% from 1.3%) and 20 Microns (to 1.7% from 1.3%).