Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) broke a new record on the stock market today as the share price of the company touched ₹900 for the first time. It is the level which has not been witnessed by the public insurer since its listing in May 2022.
With its share price at ₹900, LIC has hit its 52-week high on the stock market on Wednesday. With a spike in the shares of the company, the market capitalisation of LIC has now surpassed that of State Bank of India (SBI), India’s largest government-sector bank.
LIC shares were listed on the stock market on May 17, 2022 at ₹875.25 apiece, while its issue price ahead of listing was ₹949. However, the shares of the insurance giant have been on a downward spiral since, hitting an all-time low of ₹530.
The stocks recovered when in November 2023, LIC shares witnessed a massive spike of over 12 percent. The upward trend continued when LIC shares saw a rise of 22.52 percent in December and 7.51 percent spike in the first two weeks of January 2024.
The massive uptick of share prices of the insurance giant saw LIC’s market capitalisation crossing ₹5.66 lakh crore. Over the last three months, LIC has seen a spike of ₹1.83 lakh crore in its market cap.
Currently, the stock is just 6.21% away from its IPO price, which was ₹949. Through this spike, the mcap of LIC has surpassed that of SBI, which currently stands at ₹5.63 lakh crore. However, early market trends show that SBI can retain the stop spot once again in just a few hours.
LIC becomes India’s most valued state-run company
With the spike in share prices, LIC has become the most valued state-run company in India, surpassing the State Bank of India by a marginal difference. While LIC has claimed the top spot, there is a significant loss of investor wealth in the company.
This is the first time since its listing that the share prices of LIC have reached a similar level to the issue price, trading at a loss for nearly two years. While LIC shares are now over the listing price, they are still below the IPO price.
LIC till date remains the biggest initial public offering (IPO) of India where the government sold shares worth ₹21,000 crore in the insurance giant to mobilise funds. The government still continues to hold 96.5 percent stake in the company.