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Debt-ridden telecom operator Vodafone Idea, which completed its Rs 18,000 crore FPO successfully on Monday, has seen its retail shareholding growing by 55 lakh to 36.2 lakh in March quarter.The ownership of retail investors, defined as those with holdings of up to Rs 2 lakh in the stock, increased from 3.32% in December 2023 to 3.7% in the quarter ended March 2024. The company also witnessed an increased shareholding of the individual investors having more than Rs 2 lakh invested in the stock from 6.06% to 6.17%.Additionally, mutual funds have also increased their stake in the stock. In December 2023, 48 mutual funds schemes were invested in the company while 6 new mutual funds added the stock in their portfolios as of March 2024 however, the percentage shareholding of mutual funds decreased from 2.91% to 2.06% for the same period.At the end of each quarter, companies are mandatorily required to update the exchanges about their shareholding patterns, according to which, there has been significant increase in the number of retail investors having a stake in the company.Vodafone had launched a follow-on public offering on Thursday, 18th April, to raise Rs 18,000 crore which received a strong response from anchor investors, including GQG Partners. The FPO price band was set at Rs 10 to Rs 11 per share with the minimum lot size for an application being 1,298 shares.The Vodafone FPO, the largest in India’s history, was fully subscribed more than 5 times by around 03.00 pm on April 22, the final day of bidding, with investors bidding for 6,396.4 crore equity shares, subscription data from exchanges showed.Vodafone Idea, the third largest telecom operator in India, will spend Rs 12,750 crore of the net issue proceeds for the expansion of the network infrastructure by setting up new 4G and 5G sites and expanding the capacity of existing 4G sites.Vi has raised Rs 5,400 crore from 74 anchor investors, the firm said in a press statement on Wednesday. The investors include GQG Partners, The Master Trust Bank of Japan, UBS, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Fidelity, Quant, Citigroup Global Markets, Australian Super, and Motilal Oswal.The shares of the company settled at Rs 12.89 on BSE, 0.23% lower on Monday.Also read: FIIs raise bet on TCS, Infosys, 4 other IT stocks in Q4. Time for a U-turn?(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

Brokerage Nomura maintained a neutral rating on Persistent Systems, Investec maintained a buy on Natco Pharma and initiated a buy on Entero Healthcare. CLSA downgraded RIL to outperform. We have collated a list of recommendations from top brokerage firms from ETNow and other sources:Nomura on Persistent Systems: Neutral| Target Rs 3400Nomura maintained a neutral rating on Persistent Systems but slashed the target price to Rs 3400 from Rs 3800 earlier.Growth remains resilient and margins disappointed. Deal wins have moderated. Going forward, strong execution is likely to help deliver industry-leading growth.Margin expansion aspiration pushed out due to continued macro weakness. The global investment bank reduced earnings per share (EPS) estimates by 9-11% over FY25-26.Investec on Natco Pharma: Buy| Target Rs 1200Investec maintained a buy rating on Natco Pharma but raised the target price to Rs 1200 from Rs 710 earlier.It has the ability to generate significant EBITDA for a few years followed by a lull of 1-2 years. It should generate significant EBITDA even post gRevlimid in FY28-FY33.With its track record, Natco could emerge as a key player in GLP-1s/peptides. The company has stepped up to build a larger base business which is also gaining traction.Investec on Entero Healthcare: Buy| Target Rs 1590Investec initiated a buy rating on Entero Healthcare with a target price of Rs 1590. The company has emerged as a top consolidator, leaving its peers behind with a series of well-curated acquisitions.Key positives include strong balance sheet post-IPO, management focus, operational excellence and impressive acquisition track record.The global investment bank expects 30%/59% revenue/EBITDA CAGR over FY24-26.CLSA on RIL: Outperform| Target Rs 3300CLSA downgraded RIL to outperform from a buy earlier but raised the target price to Rs 3300 from Rs 3060 earlier.The company reported in-line quarters on overall numbers. Jio performance was in line but retail disappointed.CLSA raised the target but downgraded the stock from a buy to Outperform after the recent rally. It also slashed EPS estimate for FY25/26 by 2-5%(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)