The MRF futures on Monday breached the Rs 1-lakh mark, recording an intra-day high of Rs 1,00,184, before settling at Rs 98,320.80 on the National Stock Exchange. Compared to its previous close, the price of MRF futures was down 0.51%.
In the cash market, the stock touched an all-time high of Rs 99,933.50 in intra-day trade, before closing at Rs 97,750 on the NSE, down Rs 864.05, or 0.88%.
The MRF stock is the most expensive one in India, followed by Page Industries at Rs 41,372. There were 12 stocks on the NSE with prices of more than Rs 10,000 as of Monday.
According to a Motilal Oswal report in the previous week, MRF’s Q4 showing came as a surprise, thanks to lower raw material costs that helped boost its EBITDA margin to 14.7% (against an estimate of 11.9%). The recovery in the EBITDA margin is expected to continue in FY24 owing to softening raw material costs and operating leverage.
However, its present valuation of 22.3x the FY25E EPS is seen expensive — representing a near-100% premium to its peers — said the brokerage, despite a weakening competitive position and similar capital efficiencies.