Why IRCTC Is Banned Under F&O On NSE Today?

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has placed three stocks/securities under a futures and options (F&O) embargo for trade on Thursday, September 9, 2021. Because they have exceeded 95 percent of the market-wide position limit, these securities are prohibited in the F&O segment (MWPL).

Indiabulls Housing Finance, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), and National Aluminium Company are the three stocks banned from trading on F&O today (Nalco). The indicated security's derivative contracts have crossed 95% of the market-wide position limit and are currently in the ban period.

When a stock is under the F&O ban, no new positions are allowed in any of the F&O contracts in that stock. The MWPL (market-wide position limit) is defined by stock exchanges and is the maximum number of contracts that can be open at any given moment (Open Interest). As a result, if the open interest of that stock exceeds 95 percent of the MWPL, the F&O contracts of that stock enter a ban period.

During the recent bull market, IRCTC stock has soared by more than 120 percent this year (year-to-date). IRCTC has generated excellent returns since its stock market debut, rallying ten times since its IPO issue price of 320 per share.

In October 2019, the state-owned corporation, which has a significant monopoly, listed on the principal markets. In the rail network, it enjoys a 100 percent market share. It's also the only company with the authority to run catering services on trains and at major railway stops.

The bullish trend is expected to aid the stock's march above Rs 3,300 levels in the short term, according to experts. On the BSE, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation's market capitalization surpassed 52,000 crore.

On August 12, 2021, the IRCTC board of directors adopted a 5-for-1 stock split to make shares more affordable to small investors. In Q1 FY22, IRCTC had a net profit of 82.52 crore, compared to a net loss of 24.6 crore in Q1 FY21.

IRCTC Fundamentals

Parameter	Values
Market Cap (Rs. in Cr.)	51854.40
Earning Per Share (EPS TTM) (Rs.)	18.56
Price To Earnings (P/E) Ratio	174.58
Book Value Per Share (Rs.)	83.55
Price/Book (MRQ)	38.79
Price/Earning (TTM)	150.07
ROCE (%)	62.75
PAT Margin	23.23
Dividend Yield	0.15
Face Value	10