Vodafone Idea shares zoomed 12% today; here is why

Shares of Vodafone Idea Ltd (Vi) surged 11.75 per cent in Monday's trade to hit a high of Rs 8.18. The stock was last seen trading 10.79 per cent up at Rs 8.11. At this price, it has climbed 6.43 per cent in a month.

Today's sharp upmove in the share price came after the Centre officially raised its stake in Voda Idea to 48.99 per cent from 22.60 per cent by converting a part of spectrum payment dues into equity shares worth Rs 36,950 crore.

This followed the government's 2021 telecom relief package announcement. Despite the Centre's stake raise, operational control will stay with the promoters -- UK's Vodafone Plc and the Aditya Birla Group (ABG).

Vodafone UK's stake in Vi declined to around 16.1 per cent from about 24.4 per cent before the said transaction, while ABG's ownership slipped to 9.4 per cent from nearly 14 per cent previously.

Earlier in February 2023, the government had converted Vi debt of about Rs 16,130 crore comprising interest arising from deferment of AGR (adjusted gross revenue) and spectrum installments into equity.

Citi Research has maintained its 'Buy' call on the Voda Idea shares while underscoring that the stock remains a 'high-risk' bet. That said, the global brokerage sees Vi shares at Rs 12.

Technically, the scrip traded higher than the 5-day, 10-, 20-, 30-day and 50-day simple moving averages (SMAs) but lower than the 100-day, 150-day and 200-day SMAs. Its 14-day relative strength index (RSI) came at 58.86. A level below 30 is defined as oversold while a value above 70 is considered overbought.

VIL was formed in 2018 when Vodafone Group Plc merged its India business with Idea Cellular. Promoters held a 25.57 per cent stake in the operator as of April 8, 2025.