The shares of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) are holding steady in the unlisted market, indicating that the country’s second-largest IPO could break the curse of poor listing gains, as four of the 5 biggest IPOs have delivered either negative or muted returns on debut.
NSE shares are commanding a grey market premium of Rs 218 or 12% in the unofficial market as of Monday, according to market observers. This indicates the stock could hit the bourses at around Rs 2,000 per share given its initial share sale price band is fixed at Rs 1700 to Rs 1785 per share.
Last week, the country's largest stock exchange trimmed down its IPO size to Rs 22,569 crore, making it the country's second-largest public issue after Hyundai Motor India's Rs 27,870-crore offering in 2024. The IPO, which will open for subscription on September 17, is entirely an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 12.64 crore equity shares by existing shareholders, compared with 14.9 crore shares planned earlier.
The excitement around the issue comes even as India’s largest IPOs have failed to deliver healthy returns on debut as they are often blamed for pricing the issue at a premium, leaving little room for an upside when it hits the exchanges.
Hyundai shares made a weak debut on the exchanges on 22 October 2024 after listing at a 1.32% discount at Rs 1,934 against its IPO price of Rs 1960 on the NSE. The stock fell more than 7% on its first day of trading following a tepid subscription of its mega IPO.
Similarly, Life Insurance Corporation of India’s (LIC) Rs 20,557 crore IPO launched in May 2022 was listed at an 8% discount. Paytm’s Rs 18,300 crore IPO in November 2021 debuted with a discount of over 9% and dropped more than 20% within the first 15 minutes of trading. Shares of Tata Capital, which launched a Rs 15,512 crore IPO in October 2025, listed at Rs 330 on the NSE, a modest premium of 1.23% over its IPO price.
Only Coal India, which launched Rs 15,199 crore IPO in October 2010, made a splashing debut as it delivered a listing gain of 39.73%, listing at Rs 342.35 against an issue price of Rs 245.
SAMCO Securities believes that NSE offers investors exposure to a dominant market-infrastructure business, backed by strong market share, profitability, technology and a debt-free balance sheet. The domestic brokerage firm has recommended subscribing to the IPO for the long term.
“At the upper price of Rs 1,785, NSE is valued at 42.89x FY2026 earnings, which is supported by its superior market position, profitability, scalability and long-term growth opportunity,” Raj Gaikar, Equity Research Analyst, SAMCO Securities.
He added, “NSE offers investors an opportunity to participate in one of the strongest market infrastructure businesses in India. Its scale, liquidity, technology infrastructure, integrated clearing ecosystem and extensive investor base create a strong competitive moat.”
Coming to NSE’s financials, revenue from operations stood at Rs 16,601.31 crore in FY26, down from Rs 17,140.68 crore in FY25 but higher than Rs 14,780.01 crore in FY24. Ebitda declined to Rs 11,097.90 crore from Rs 12,646.88 crore, while profit after tax fell to Rs 10,302.06 crore from Rs 12,187.69 crore in FY25, though both remained above FY24 levels.
NSE is India's largest exchange by turnover in the cash market and equity derivatives from Fiscal 2001 to Fiscal 2026, and in exchange-traded currency derivatives from Fiscal 2009 to Fiscal 2026, per the Redseer Report.