IRCTC Shares Surge Over 9%, Hits Fresh Record High On Heavy Volumes

Shares of the catering and ticketing arm or Indian Railways, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), jumped as much as 9.58 per cent to hit record high of Rs 3,297.90 on the back of heavy trading volumes. As many as 6.06 lakh IRCTC shares changed hands on the BSE compared with an average of 1.03 lakh shares traded daily the past two weeks, data from BSE showed. With today's surge in IRCTC share price, its market capitalisation of Rs 50,000 crore. 

IRCTC shares have been on investors' radar ever since the company's board announced stock split last month. IRCTC had last month announced a stock-split in the ratio of 1:5 "to help enhance liquidity in the capital market, widen shareholder base and make the shares affordable to small investors." 

A company's authorised share capital remains the same in a stock-split, but the market price declines in proportion to the split ratio and this results in a greater number of shares available in the secondary market. The reduction of the market price and increase in liquidity makes the shares affordable to retail buyers. 

IRCTC has also been the beneficiary of the opening up of the economy wherein people have started to travel using its travel portal, analysts said. 

IRCTC shares have so far this year more than doubled from Rs 1,437, outperforming the Sensex which has advanced more than 20 per cent. IRCTC stock has surged a whopping over 400 per cent since its listing on October 14, 2019.

As of 2:35 pm, IRCTC shares traded 9.12 per cent higher at Rs 3,284, outperforming the Sensex which was up 0.21 per cent.