Sunil Singhania's New Bet is this Media Stock

Many were wondering what sparked a sharp rally of 20% in TV Today shares yesterday.

The stock of TV Today was locked in upper circuit yesterday amid heavy volumes. More than 5% equity of the company changed hands on the bourses.

It was only revealed later that Sunil Singhania-owned Abakkus Asset Manager LLP bought 8 lakh equity shares in the company.

This accounted for 1.34% stake of the total paid up equity. Abakkus bought the stock at Rs 345 per share on the NSE as per the bulk deals data.

Steinberg India Emerging Opportunities Fund was the seller. Steinberg India still holds a stake in TV Today Network. September 2021 shareholding data shows it held 4.78% stake in total prior to the sale.

A word about Abakkus Asset Manager LLP

Abakkus Asset Manager is an investment management company founded by Sunil Singhania, who was the CIO of Equity Investments at Reliance Mutual Funds.

Sunil Singhania has a track record of over two decades in equity markets and he played an important role in building Reliance-Nippon MF into one of India's largest asset management companies (AMCs).

Currently, Abakkus manages over Rs 50 bn of assets. To point out one Abakkus' good investment in recent times, it has continuously raised stake in IT company Mastek. This year alone, Mastek shares are up around 180%.

Why did Abakkus Invest in TV Today Network?

While we don't know why Mr. Singhania bought into it, there are some reasons that we can guess...

Two weeks back, TV Today Network posted a 69.4% YoY jump in its bottomline to Rs 469.8 m. When compared sequentially, bottomline increased by 26%. The company's topline also improved 28% YoY.

These are undoubtedly solid results, though one needs to adjust for the base effect of the Covid year.

For detailed quarterly results, check out the latest quarterly results of TV Today Network.

These results are in line with the company's ambitious plans and the booming digital media space.

In the annual report, the company had mentioned its television segment revenues would grow at a CAGR of 7% to reach Rs 847 bn by 2023.

This will be driven by increased base of subscribers as households continue to get televised and TVs' price competitiveness as against [OTT + data] alternatives.

Here's an excerpt from the annual report.

• With the objective of bringing in next generation technology, the government intends to hold 5G spectrum auctions in 2021-22 which, it believes, will help in the achievement of its 'Digital India' vision.

It will be fair to say, the media companies which played their cards well have attracted a lot of interest.

A recent example was Zee Entertainment (ZEE). In September this year, Sony Pictures Networks India signed a non-binding deal to merge with ZEE. The two companies together will create largest entertainment network in India.

Post the merger, Sony will infuse growth capital into the company as part of the merger. This deal will be synergistic for both the companies.

Do remember not to plunge into a company's stock just because it has great plans for the future.

Investing is not that simple!

How the stock of TV Today has performed recently

TV Today share price opened 2% higher today. As the session progressed, shares gained 5% to touch a new 52-week high of Rs 426.

Yesterday, shares of the company ended 17% higher. Thanks to yesterday's rally, shares of TV Today Network join the list of multibaggers.

Over the past one year, they have rallied 106%.

In the past one month, the stock has outperformed benchmark indices by surging 38%.

Did you know that shares of TV Today Network gave multibagger returns of 121% on Day 1, when it listed in 2004?

About the company

TV Today Network is primarily engaged in broadcasting television news channels, radio stations and newspaper publishing in India.

The company is a part of India Today group and comprises four news channels - Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, Tez, and Dilli Aaj Tak.

To know more about the company, check out TV Today Network financial fact sheet.

For a sector overview, read our media sector report.

You can also compare TV Today with its peers:

TV Today vs Zee Entertainment

TV Today vs Sun TV Networks

And to know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only. It is not a stock recommendation and should not be treated as such. Learn more about our recommendation services here...