Mumbai, Nov 10 (IANS) Eyewear retailer Lenskart Solutions Ltd made a tepid debut on stock exchanges on Monday, despite strong investor interest in its Rs 7,278 crore initial public offering (IPO). The company’s shares were listed at Rs 390 apiece on the BSE, a discount of about 3 per cent to its issue price of Rs 402, while opening slightly higher at Rs 395 on the NSE.

Soon after listing, the stock slipped to an intra-day low of Rs 355.70, down over 9 per cent from the issue price. However, it later recovered sharply in afternoon trade, climbing over 15 per cent from the day’s low to hit an intra-day high of Rs 413.80.

At around 2 p.m., the Lenkarts’ shares were trading flat to their IPO price. The stock was trading at Rs 404.55, up 0.6 per cent from the listing price. Meanwhile, domestic equity indices were trading in positive territory. Sensex was at 83,630.53, up 414 points or 0.5 per cent, and Nifty was at 25,615.85, up 122 points or 0.48 per cent.

The IPO had been among the most keenly watched this year and witnessed robust demand, being subscribed 28 times overall. Investors bid for 281.88 crore shares against the 9.97 crore shares on offer, according to exchange data.

The Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIB) segment drove the response, subscribing 40.35 times the shares reserved for them, while non-institutional investors (NIIs) subscribed 18.23 times.

Retail participation was also strong despite the relatively high price band of Rs 382–Rs 402 per share.

The public offer comprised a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 2,150.74 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 5,128.02 crore.

The muted debut reflected cooling sentiment in the grey market, where the premium had slipped to about 2 per cent ahead of listing, indicating expectations of only a marginal upside. Despite the soft start, Lenskart’s quick recovery in afternoon trade hinted at continued investor interest in the fast-growing eyewear brand.

–IANS

aps/na