Reliance Industries market cap crosses Rs 21 lakh crore! Here’s what brokerages have to say about country's most valued firm by m-cap

RIL share price today: Shares of Reliance Industries (RIL), owned by Mukesh Ambani, marked a significant achievement by becoming the first Indian company to surpass a market capitalization of Rs 21 lakh crore in trade on Friday. Reliance Industries, the heavyweight stock, experienced a significant surge of 2.31 percent, closing at Rs 3,131.85 per share on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
During intraday trading, the stock reached a record high of Rs 3,161.45, marking a 3.27 percent increase. Among the 30 companies listed on the BSE Sensex, Reliance Industries emerged as the top performer.
On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the stock witnessed a 2.19 percent rise, settling at Rs 3,128.25 per share.
The company's market valuation saw a substantial increase of Rs 47,777.57 crore, reaching Rs 21,18,951.20 crore. With this impressive market capitalization, Reliance Industries maintains its position as the most valuable company in India, states a PTI report.
In terms of trading volume, the BSE recorded 10.33 lakh shares of the company being traded, while the NSE saw a higher volume of 144.77 lakh shares exchanged during the trading session.
Since the beginning of the year, Reliance Industries' shares have demonstrated a strong performance, with a remarkable 21.16 percent gain on the BSE.
Global brokerage firms such as Morgan Stanley and Jefferies predict an upside potential of up to 15% in Reliance's stock, optimistic about the company's future outlook post-update, according to an ET report.
The tariff increases by Jio were largely anticipated by the market. The brokerages view Jio's decision to lead the tariff hike and focus on enhancing investment returns as a sentimental positive.
Morgan Stanley remarked that RIL's telecom tariff hikes aligned with their base case expectations. They highlighted ongoing investment monetization and identified new energy cash flow streams set to begin by the end of 2024 as the next significant event to watch. Morgan Stanley does not anticipate any further tariff hikes until FY27 but suggested that an additional 20% tariff increase within the next year could boost earnings by 10-15%.
The global brokerage firm has rated RIL as 'overweight' with a target price of Rs 3,046.
Jefferies noted Jio's tariff hikes ranged between 13-25% and subsequently reduced Jio's FY25-27 estimates by up to 3%. According to Jefferies, they predict Jio will achieve a Revenue/PAT CAGR of 18/26% over FY24-27 and have slightly adjusted RIL's FY25/26 EBITDA by 0-1% to reflect Jio's new numbers.
Jefferies maintains a 'buy' rating on Reliance, with a target price of Rs 3,580.
JM Financial pointed out that Jio taking the lead in the tariff hike is positive for future hikes, contrasting with previous hikes led by Bharti Airtel, which positioned Jio as a reluctant follower in terms of gaining subscriber market share.
Kotak Institutional Equities has said that the tariff hike is in line with their expectations (20% from June 2024) and it has already incorporated this into their estimates. Additionally, R-Jio has limited unlimited 5G data usage to plans costing Rs 299 and above per day, potentially encouraging higher data consumers to upgrade. Kotak Institutional Equities anticipates Bharti Airtel and Vi will also raise their tariffs soon, with Bharti Airtel having already announced tariff hikes of 10-21%.
Antique Broking views the tariff hike as significantly positive for the sector and foresees further re-rating within the industry. They plan to monitor additional tariff announcements to gauge Jio's tariff discount positioning. Despite the new hike, Antique Broking's estimates remain unchanged as they had already accounted for a potential tariff increase.