Patanjali Foods Shares Sink 17% After ₹195-Crore Block Deal Despite Strong FY26 Performance

Shares of Patanjali Foods slumped as much as 18% to a 52-week low on Wednesday after block deals worth nearly ₹195 crore, involving around 1.5% of the company's equity, triggered heavy selling despite the FMCG and edible oil maker reporting robust financial performance.

According to CNBC-TV18, 54.24 lakh shares changed hands through block deals at an average price of ₹355 apiece. At around 12 pm on July 15, Patanjali Foods shares were trading 17% lower at ₹337.60, extending losses for a third consecutive session. During the day, the stock touched a 52-week low of ₹328.20, compared with its 52-week high of ₹653.93.

Subsequently, the sharp decline was accompanied by unusually heavy trading activity. More than 2.3 crore shares changed hands against a 20-day average of around 25 lakh shares, while delivery volumes also surged, pointing to significant institutional participation rather than routine retail trading.

Meanwhile, speaking to CNBC-TV18, Chief Executive Officer Sanjeev Asthana said the company's business fundamentals remain strong and there has been no change in its long-term business strategy.

Promoter Holding and Valuation

As of June 30, the promoter and promoter group held 68.25% of Patanjali Foods. Among institutional investors, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) owned 9.13%, GQG Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund held 2.89%, while Jainam Broking held 1.27%.

According to Bloomberg data, the stock has declined 27% over the past 52 weeks, compared with a 6.3% fall in the benchmark Sensex during the same period. It has also slipped 3.5% over the past five trading sessions and 7.2% over the past month.

Currently, the stock trades at around 25 times estimated forward earnings and 24 times trailing earnings, with a price-to-book ratio of 3.3 times and a trailing 12-month dividend yield of 1.1%, Bloomberg data showed.

Strong Financial Performance

The selloff comes despite the company delivering a strong performance in FY26. For the March quarter (Q4 FY26), consolidated net profit rose 46% year-on-year to ₹523.97 crore, compared with ₹358.51 crore in the year-ago period. Total income increased to ₹11,212.17 crore from ₹9,564.47 crore.

Whereas, for the full financial year, net profit climbed to ₹1,814.47 crore from ₹1,300.70 crore, while total income increased to ₹40,347.78 crore from ₹33,890.68 crore in FY25.

The big drop seems to have happened mostly because of a change in who owns the company, not because the company's basic performance got worse.

However, the large amount of selling by institutions has brought attention back to the prices of stocks, and investors are closely watching to see if the recent drop stabilises or leads to more changes in their investments in the coming days.