A surge in PB Fintech Ltd. has turned the Indian stock into the world’s best-performer this year among major financial technology firms as green shoots emerge in unsecured lending after a central bank crackdown.
The shares have risen about 110% in 2024, the most among companies with a minimum $1 billion market value in the 52-member Solactive FinTech Index. The gauge, whose largest constituents are Intuit Inc. and Fiserv Inc., is up 15%.
A business line providing unsecured credit that slowed under the Reserve Bank of India’s curbs “seems to have bottomed out and has started edging upwards,” PB Fintech Group Chief Executive Officer Yashish Dahiya said in an interview.
PB Fintech, which operates insurance marketplace Policybazaar and credit provider Paisabazaar, listed in 2021 and swung to a profit in the 12 months through March after a spell of losses over a number of fiscal years.
Ongoing challenges for the company include regulatory efforts to commoditize protection products and rivals seeking to build their own direct-to-consumer online channels, said Savi Jain, co-founder of portfolio management service 2Point2 Capital Advisors.
PB Fintech has eight analyst buy ratings, seven holds and four sells, as well as an average 12-month price target of 1,485 rupees ($17.7) — about 11% below the stock’s current level — according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
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