What lies ahead for Paytm stock after Vijay Shekhar Sharma firm turns profitable; should you buy, sell, hold-

What lies ahead for Paytm stock after Vijay Shekhar Sharma firm turns profitable; should you buy, sell, hold?

Paytm achieved profitability three quarters ahead of its guidance, causing the market sentiment regarding the payment aggregator and financial services firm to turn positive, and sending the share price soaring. The company reported a revenue of Rs 2,062 crore in Q3FY23, up 42% on-year, while the firm’s contribution profit was up 131% on-year at Rs 1,048 crore. The stock has seen a rise of 28% from Friday’s closing price, regaining the interest of traders and investors.Paytm Stock CallsBoFa Securities: Neutral

Target Price: Rs 730CMP: Rs 524.95Upside: 39%

Goldman Sachs: Buy

Target Price: Rs 1,150CMP: Rs 524.9Upside: 119.1%

Goldman Sachs raised its FY24/FY25 adjusted EBITDA estimates for Paytm by 30%/14% on the back of Q3FY23 results. The journey to profitability was one quarter ahead of their recently upgraded expectation. The brokerage also said they expect the profits to sustain and with strong traction in disbursals, operating leverage, and UPI reimbursement, they expect the EBITDA margin to expand. This, to Goldman Sachs, is a significant catalyst for the stock.

The current stock price, according to the company’s analysis, suggests Paytm’s current share price is already pricing in multiple headwinds, with the stock trading close to its bear-case implied value; we see risk-reward as skewed to the upside. Paytm’s valuation multiples are at a discount to global/India peers, said Goldman Sachs.

Macquarie Research: Outperform

Target Price: Rs 800CMP: Rs 588Upside: 36.1%

Macquarie Research double-upgraded the digital financial services firm from underperform to outperform as the quarter ending December’s results surprised the markets by a wide margin. “At the time of listing, profit and free cash flow were not even a part of management’s discussion. However, we see a very visible change in approach of management to deliver profit, evidenced, we believe, by the core EBITDA profitability that was reported recently,” said the research firm.

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