Eternal now among top 10 most-valued stocks in MF kitty

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Eternal Ltd, formerly known as Zomato, has made its way into the list of the 10 most-owned stocks by mutual funds, overtaking established giants such as ITC, Maruti Suzuki India and Sun Pharmaceuticals. The milestone comes despite Eternal being the costliest stock in the Nifty index, with a trailing 12-month price-to-earnings ratio of nearly 950 times.

As of August end, 43 mutual funds hold shares of Eternal, with a combined holding valued at Rs 71,746 crore. In comparison, HDFC Bank remains the top mutual fund holding, with 45 funds together owning shares worth Rs 3.13 lakh crore, followed by ICICI Bank (46 funds, Rs 2.47 lakh crore) and Reliance Industries Ltd (45 funds, Rs 1.75 lakh crore).

Other major holdings during the month include Infosys (45 funds, Rs 1.25 lakh crore), Bharti Airtel (Rs 1.22 lakh crore), State Bank of India (Rs 1.05 lakh crore), Larsen & Toubro (Rs 1.01 lakh crore) and Kotak Mahindra Bank (Rs 77,242 crore).

Eternal has emerged as a mutual fund favourite amid a sharp rally in its stock price, which surged 108 percent in 2023, 124 percent in 2024 and has already risen over 16 percent in 2025 despite volatility in domestic equities. Analyst recommendations currently stand at 29 buy calls, zero hold and 4 sell, compared with 24 buy and 2 sell at the beginning of the year.

Among the largest institutional investors, SBI Mutual Fund holds Eternal shares worth Rs 9,908 crore, followed by Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund (Rs 7,746 crore) and Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund (Rs 6,253 crore).

Other significant positions are held by HDFC Mutual Fund (Rs 5,218 crore), UTI Mutual Fund (Rs 5,200 crore), Nippon India Mutual Fund (Rs 5,100 crore), ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund (Rs 5,099 crore), Axis Mutual Fund (Rs 4,987 crore), Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund (Rs 3,416 crore), Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund (Rs 2,807 crore) and Canara Robeco Mutual Fund (Rs 2,617 crore).

Mutual funds’ confidence in Eternal remains strong, as analysts project its core food delivery business to deliver margin expansion and robust free cash flow over the next three years, aided by lower capital expenditure and improved working capital efficiency. These gains are expected to bankroll the company’s quick commerce operations, which are projected to turn EBITDA profitable by the fourth quarter of FY26. Revenue growth is forecast at 42 percent, with Eternal already profitable at the PAT level.

At the same time, the quick commerce market is heating up, with Amazon joining Flipkart and Reliance in taking on incumbents Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto. Experts highlight that Blinkit is scaling aggressively, with a larger store network and customer base, and enjoys stronger unit economics that translate into superior EBITDA margins compared to peers. Backed by cash reserves of Rs 18,860 crore, Eternal is well placed to step up marketing and expand its dark store footprint.