Top 10 FPI favourites tank up to 45% from 52-week highs amid market rout

NEW DELHI: Top 10 FPI favourite stocks in the BSE500 pack are facing heavy selling pressure, as the institutional category continued to dump domestic equities, in the light of record low rupee, high valuations and better opportunities elsewhere.

Data showed eight of the top 10 FPI-owned stocks saw cuts in institutional exposure in the March quarter.

The biggest cut was seen in the most FPI-heavy stock HDFC, which saw a 295 basis points drop in FPI stake sequentially to 69.19 per cent. The investor class has cut its stake by 359 basis points in the HDFC group firm in the last four quarters.

Shares of the mortgage lender are down 28 per cent from their 52-week high of Rs 3,021.1 hit on November 15, 2021. The average price target of this stock at Rs 3,122, according to Trendlyne, suggests a potential 45 per cent upside.

The second most FPI-heavy stock Shriram Transport saw FPIs increasing their stake by 73 basis points sequentially to 53.88 per cent. They have in fact reduced their stake in the company by 713 basis points in the last four quarters. This scrip, at Rs 1,065 apiece, is down 37 per cent from its 52-week high of Rs 1,696.4.

The third most FPI-heavy stock Apollo Hospitals is down 39 per cent against its 52-week high of Rs 5,935.40 touched on November 26, 2021. FPIs reduced their stake in this stock by 160 basis points to 50.81 per cent in the March quarter and by 370 basis points in the last four quarters.


Data showed foreign outflows stood at Rs 1,44,565 crore in 2022 so far. This is in addition to Rs 38,521 crore outflows seen in the last three months of 2021.

"I will not look at the FPI outflows in isolation. This is about growth versus value because FPIs were grossly over-owned in growth stocks and that trend has reversed. So if two quarters down the line when you sit down and analyse your data from the FII holding, you will see growth stocks have declined in terms of ownership and their ownership will gradually increase in value stocks," Sandeep Tandon, CIO - Quant Mutual Fund told ET NOW.

Zee Entertainment, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Aavas Financiers and IRB Infrastructure are among other top FPI heavy stocks in the BSE500 pack, that were on the sell radar.

Except for IRB Infra, the rest all stocks witnessed a 14-435 basis points fall in FPI stake in the March quarter.

IRB is down 45 per cent from its 52-week high; ZEE has plunged 37 per cent; Axis Bank has dropped 25 per cent; IndusInd Bank 29.48 per cent; Kotak 21 per cent; ICICI Bank 19 per cent; and Aavas is down 36 per cent from their respective 52-week highs.

These stocks, except for IRB, have seen FPI cutting stake by up to 16.23 percentage points over the last four quarters.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)