Lenskart Solutions entered the Dalal Street on Monday, making a muted debut. After listing, the eyewear giant will be available for trading on both benchmark indices, NSE and BSE.The Lenskart Solutions share listed at Rs 390 on the BSE, offering a discount of 3% on its IPO price, after closing one of the year’s most keenly watched public issues.The stock was trading at Rs 390 or down 2.8% on the NSE and at Rs 389, or down 3% on the BSE at 10:07 AM IST.
The share made its debut at Rs 390 on the BSE, while it opened slightly higher at Rs 395 on the NSE.Pre-listing sentiment around Lenskart Solutions cooled, as the grey market premium shrank to 2%.
Lenskart IPO
The eyewear retailer’s Rs 7,278 crore IPO saw overwhelming investor participation, but excitement appeared to have cooled in the run-up to its listing. In early morning indications, the grey market premium (GMP) slipped to roughly 2%, suggesting that the stock may list only slightly above its issue price. The IPO, priced between Rs 382 and Rs 402 per share, was subscribed 28 times overall. Investors bid for 281.88 crore shares against the 9.97 crore shares on offer, according to data from the exchanges. The Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB) segment led the demand, with subscription at 40.35 times, while the non-institutional investors (NIIs) category saw bids 18.23 times the allocation. Retail participation was also strong, despite the higher price range. The offer consisted of fresh issue of shares worth Rs 2,150.74 crore and an offer for sale totalling Rs 5,128.02 crore. The lot size was fixed at 37 shares. Post-issue, Lenskart’s total share count increased from 1,68,10,15,590 shares to 1,73,45,16,686 shares.
Buy or hold — What analysts say?
Despite the strong subscription numbers, analysts have expressed concerns over valuations. Earlier this week, Ambit Capital initiated coverage on Lenskart with a “Sell” rating and a target price of Rs 337, signalling a potential 16% downside from the issue price. The brokerage, as cited by ET, noted that although the company’s topline could grow around 20% CAGR between FY25 and FY28, the “capex-heavy model, thin free cash flows, and low returns on capital (RoCE of ~9%) make its valuation difficult to justify.”SBI Securities also urged caution saying, “Valuation of Lenskart seems stretched and hence listing gain is likely to be muted. However, looking at the robust business model, the company is well placed to encash on the fast-growing domestic organized eyeglasses market.”Meanwhile, Nirmal Bang hailed Lenskart’s “resilient business model,” highlighting that it is supported by its centralised manufacturing and rising international presence. “Lenskart enjoys strong competitiveness in the Indian eyewear market by leveraging innovation, technology, and an omnichannel strategy that keeps it cost-efficient in a fragmented industry,” the brokerage noted.
About Lenskart
At the upper end of the price band, the company is valued at 10.1 times FY25 EV/Sales and 68.7 times EV/EBITDA. However, profitability trends have been improving as the company’s EBITDA margin rose from 7% in FY23 to 14.7% in FY25.The company operates over 2,700 stores globally, including 2,000 in India, and has scaled its footprint across Singapore, the UAE and the United States. Over the past two years, revenue rose at a 32% CAGR to reach Rs 6,653 crore in FY25. EBITDA increased 3.7 times to Rs 971 crore during the same period, and the company posted a profit of Rs 297 crore in FY25, a sharp turnaround from a loss of Rs 64 crore two years ago.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India.)
