Bajaj Housing slips

Bajaj Housing Finance slipped sharply in Tuesday’s trade, falling about 9% to a new 52-week low of Rs 94.90 amid heavy block-deal activity and news that promoter Bajaj Finance plans to pare its stake by up to 2% to meet minimum public shareholding norms.

At the time of writing, the stock was trading near Rs 95–96 versus a previous close of Rs 104.50, with intraday trades confined to a Rs 94.90–97.70 band and a volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of Rs 95.78. The decline takes the stock roughly 36% below its 52-week high of Rs 147.70 and close to half its post-listing peak near Rs 190, though still above its IPO price of Rs 70 per share.

Turnover and volumes were consistent with a supply shock rather than ordinary downside follow-through. Around 4.13 crore shares (413 lakh) had changed hands, against a two-week average of just 4.21 lakh shares, implying nearly 100 times normal volumes and a cash turnover of about Rs 396 crore. Exchange data and media reports indicated that roughly 19.5 crore shares, or about 2.3% of the company’s equity, were transacted in a block trade at around Rs 97 per share, valuing the deal at about Rs 1,890 crore and effectively setting the tone for secondary-market pricing in the near term.

The selling pressure follows a regulatory filing in which Bajaj Housing Finance disclosed that promoter Bajaj Finance, which currently owns 7,39,10,03,845 shares (about 88.70% of paid-up capital), intends to divest up to 2% of its stake, or a maximum of 16.66 crore shares, via open-market transactions and block deals to comply with minimum public shareholding requirements. The divestment window runs from December 2, 2025, to February 28, 2026, or until the full proposed quantity is sold, whichever is earlier. In price terms, the indicated floor for the offer has been around Rs 95 per share, representing roughly a 9% discount to Monday’s closing price of about Rs 104.5, which also helps explain why the stock gravitated towards the lower end of its 10% daily price band (Rs 94.05–114.95) in today’s session.

Fundamentally, the stake sale comes against the backdrop of solid reported performance: in Q2 FY26, Bajaj Housing Finance posted profit after tax of about Rs 643 crore, up nearly 18% year on year, with net interest income rising 34% to around Rs 956 crore, signalling continued traction in its housing and mortgage finance franchise. However, the stock has already corrected sharply from early post-IPO levels, and today’s move reflects a classic tension between shorter-term supply overhang and longer-term free-float and governance benefits.

In the near term, investors are likely to focus on the absorption of the 2% promoter stake in the market and the possibility of further volatility as the block-deal price acts as an anchor. Over the medium term, once the MPS-driven selling is digested, a larger public float and the company’s earnings trajectory will be key in determining whether the current weakness is seen as a technical shake-out or a more fundamental de-rating in Bajaj Housing Finance’s valuation.