Lenskart Rs. 7,278 crore IPO, of which Rs. 600 crore fresh issue and Rs. 6,678 crore included in the offer for sale, about Rs. A total of 28 times the good was subscribed, attracting bids worth Rs 1 lakh crore. There was strong response from institutional investors, with the QIB segment oversubscribed 45 times, while the retail and HNI categories were also fully booked.
However, the Street has become cautious on valuation concerns, a factor that is now weighing on sentiment. per share Rs. At the upper end of the price band of 402, the IPO values Lenskart at an FY25 EV/EBITDA multiple of more than 50x, much higher than established listed peers in the consumer and retail space.
Adding to the pressure, brokerage Ambit Capital initiated coverage with a “sell” rating just ahead of the listing, citing stretched valuations and modest return ratios.
“We expect Lenskart to deliver 20% revenue CAGR in FY25-28, led by India expansion and growing global footprint. However, the stock trades at a 15-30% premium at 55x FY28 EV/EBITDA, despite Am3bit’s lower RoCE of 9%-5% versus 9%-5%.” He paid Rs. 337, which represents a downside of around 16% from the issue price.
While the company has delivered strong topline growth, revenue grew 32.5% in FY25 to Rs. 6,653 crores, of which Rs. 297 crore in FY25 profit linked to OnDays acquisition of Rs. 167 crore has come from a one-time benefit. Adjusted for this, the normal profit fell to Rs. 130 crore, which translates to a net margin of just 1.96%.
Analysts say that while Lenskart’s long-term story remains compelling, driven by its leadership in India’s underpenetrated eyewear market and omnichannel strategy, the short-term outlook for the stock seems muted.
If the stock lists flat, it will reflect the cooling of sentiment that pushed gray market trading to earlier lows. Long-term investors, however, may still consider holding, given the company’s structural growth potential in India’s expanding eyewear and optical retail market.
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