Zomato is out of Jefferies’ India Model Portfolio

Representative image. (Shutterstock Images)

Jefferies has exited Zomato in their India Model Portfolio, according to a report from their Equity Strategy team.

The brokerage’s equity strategy team removed the foodtech company from their portfolio because they wanted to add weight to the metals sector, with China reopening and the expectation of peaking of interest rates in the US. After taking out the foodtech company and cash, and shaving off some weight from Maruti and select banks, the strategists have added Tata Steel and Hindalco.

“For the latter tactical move (exiting Zomato), we are incrementally wary of a potential rise in competitive activity in the sector… as its chief competitor, Swiggy, has recently seen market share loss,” wrote Mahesh Nandurkar and Abhinav Sinha in the December 19 report.

Also read: We are not looking to expand to more cities in the short-term:Zomato Hyperpure head

In a November 23 report, titled Zomato or Swiggy: Who Blinks First, the equity strategy team noted Swiggy’s loss in market share despite its aggression with discount offers and its flagship scheme.

Zomato’s market share at 55% was at the highest and its profitability had improved strongly but the foodtech company had to compromise on growth, partially due to a tough macro, according to the report. They predicted a difficult few months ahead for both players and saw a strong case for Swiggy to drop its aggressive stance to reduce its losses. In case Swiggy didn’t back down, then Zomato “may be induced to increase its aggression to drive growth.”

The contrarian call

The removal of Zomato from Jefferies’ model portfolio is particularly interesting because, in July, the brokerage’s consumer sector analysts had been stirred by an internet memefest for backing the foodtech firm strongly.

In a report titled “Night is darkest just before the dawn’, the analysts had given the stock a high-conviction buy call with the target price set at Rs 100, when the stock had lost 67% from its listing price, to trade at around Rs 42. Despite the explosion of unflattering memes, the brokerage reiterated its buy call in a report titled “Fear has overshadowed greed”.

Today the stock closed at Rs 62, which is a nearly 50% upside since the brokerage report with its high-conviction buy call.

This confidence in the stock was visible even as recently as December 5, 2022, when their report titled Analyst Top Ideas listed Zomato as one of their buy calls.

“Following a ~60% correction from the peak, the stock now trades at 1.0x 1Y forward blended EV/GMV and 3.5x EV/Revenue. While this is at a premium to global & regional peers, this is justified in the context of long growth run-way along with higher explicit medium-term forecasts on GMV (~30% for Zomato Food del vs. 10-20% for peers),” it stated.

“We also see a consistent improvement in profitability in food delivery despite a strong 30% Cagr over FY22-25E (well ahead of global/regional peers). Our PT of Rs100 implies a 50% upside to CMP,” the report added.