With Infosys Ltd shares falling sharply for two days in a row, the IT stock has entered bear territory, eroding value for not only shareholders, but also co-promoter Narayana Murthy and family.
On Wednesday, Infosys fell 5.49 percent to a low of 1,569.35. At this price, the stock is down nearly 22% from its 52-week high of Rs 2,006.80, set in December 2024. The stock fell further after a couple of brokerages downgraded it, citing concerns about client indecision due to the slowing US economy and global tariff war.
According to data compiled by corporate database AceEquity, five members of NRN's family held a 4.02 percent stake in Infosys worth Rs 26,287.19 crore, including Wednesday's drop. This is down Rs 6,875.70 crore from Rs 33,162.89 crore on December 13, 2024, when the stock reached a one-year high.
At the end of the December quarter, co-founder and promoter NR Narayana Murthy (NRN) owned 0.40% of Infosys, while his wife Sudha N Murty held 0.92%. His son Rohan Murty and daughter Akshata Murty, who is also the wife of former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, owned 1.62 percent and 1.04 percent stakes, respectively, in the second largest software exporter. Ekagrah Rohan Murty, NRN's grandson, also owned a small stake in Infosys, accounting for 0.04 percent.
Rohan Murty lost Rs 2,771 crore, followed by Akshata Murty (Rs 1,778.79 crore) and Subha N Murthy (Rs 1,573.54 crore). Narayana Murthy's notional wealth fell by Rs 684 crore to Rs 3,299.79 crore.
To recall, in its Q3 results, Infosys stated that North America had returned to a positive growth trajectory after four quarters, growing at 4.8%, while Europe grew at 12.2% YoY in constant currency terms, twice the company level. The IT firm stated that it was seeing an improvement in the retail and consumer product industries in the United States as discretionary pressure decreased.
MOFSL said on Wednesday that Infosys' market expectations of 5-6 percent constant currency (CC) growth were at risk. TCS's growth rate is expected to be lower, at 3.5%.
"Wipro and Infosys (our EPS estimates are 7-10 per cent below consensus for Infosys/Wipro) face correction risk, leading us to downgrade our rating to 'Hold' for Infosys and 'Sell' for Wipro," according to the MOFSL.
Morgan Stanley also downgraded Infosys to 'Equal Weight' and suggested a new target price of Rs 1,740, down from Rs 2,150 earlier.
