ITC shares fall more than 2% this week on rumors that BAT is reducing its shareholding

Tuesday saw another setback for ITC shares, which saw a 2.5% decrease in trading at day lows of Rs 399.35, extending losses for the second day in a row. The problem is made worse by today’s decline, as the stock has now dropped by 20% from its top of Rs 499.7, which was attained on July 24 of last year.

According to media sources, British American Tobacco (BAT), which had a 29% interest in ITC as of the December quarter and is the company’s biggest stakeholder, is preparing to start selling its shares, maybe as soon as this week. BAT made the decision to sell off a part of its interest in order to strategically reallocate and liberate money.

BAT appreciated their substantial ITC stake and emphasized the opportunity created by the share sale in an official statement. The press statement promised to provide an update as soon as possible. It said, “We have been actively working for some time on completing the regulatory process required to give us the flexibility to monetize some of our shareholding.”

Beginning in the early 1900s, BAT and ITC have maintained a long-standing collaboration despite several share capital adjustments and legal limitations.

In a report dated February 29, brokerage company Goldman Sachs said that ITC’s stock price fall was mostly caused by the expected sale of its BAT share, along with dismal near-term profitability.

Although the paper industry may provide a short-term profits drag and a possible rebound in cigarette volumes is only anticipated for the September quarter of the financial year 2025, the analysis estimated a potential recovery in cigarette volumes in the March quarter.

ITC’s shares are now trading 1.8% down at Rs 401.95 as per the most recent report. The stock has dropped 14% since the start of the year and is now trading below all significant moving averages. Market watchers and investors keep a careful eye on these events because they know that BAT’s stake sale might have an effect on how ITC develops in the future.

ITC’s performance throughout the previous year
ITC shares have shown inconsistent stock performance throughout a variety of time periods. The stock has lost more than 1% of its value in the last month. The stock has dropped more than 11% over the last six months, signaling strong selling.

ITC’s stock has down 13.85% so far this year, which has exacerbated the firm’s negative trend for the current fiscal year. In the last year, the stock has returned more than 5.15%, when considering the bigger picture.