Stock market today: Shares of Avenue Supermarts, which operates the retail chain DMart, tumbled 3.4% during Monday’s trading session on October 6, hitting a 9-week low of ₹4,269 apiece, as the sell-off deepened following the release of the company’s Q2 business update, which also triggered target price cuts from brokerages.
In an exchange filing on Friday, the company reported standalone revenue from operations of ₹16,218 crore for the September quarter (Q2FY26), reflecting an increase of 15.43% from ₹14,050 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year (Q2FY25). However, the performance came below analysts’ expectations.
The company’s store addition also fell short of estimates, with only eight new stores added in the quarter, taking its total store count to 432. Analysts expect this to weigh on the near-term stock performance and have subsequently trimmed their sales estimates.
Global brokerage firm Goldman Sachs cut its target price on the stock to ₹3,370 from ₹3,450 earlier, maintaining its ‘Sell’ rating. The brokerage said DMart’s sales growth was weaker than expected and that there has been no meaningful acceleration in store expansion so far.
Consequently, it trimmed its FY26 sales growth forecast to 18% from 20% and reduced its EPS estimates for FY26–FY28 by 2%.
Similarly, Citi retained its ‘Sell’ rating on the stock with a target price of ₹3,300, citing a miss on revenue growth and margin risks ahead. The brokerage noted that competitive pressure from quick commerce players, weak consumer demand, and store additions in smaller towns are impacting throughput.
Citi also highlighted that the company’s EBITDA margin has declined year-on-year in 11 of the past 12 quarters.
Meanwhile, J.P. Morgan maintained a ‘Neutral’ rating with a target price of ₹4,350. The brokerage said the company’s Q2 revenue growth of 15%, which came in 2% below Street estimates, could weigh on near-term stock performance.
DMart share price trend
After hitting a 34-month low of ₹3,391 in February 2025, the company’s shares made a strong comeback, gaining 26.40% from that level and touching an 11-month high of ₹4,949 apiece in September.
Though the stock has recovered some of its lost ground, it is still down 27.64% from its all-time high of ₹5,900, recorded in October 2021.
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