The 2025 class of new-age listings, which includes Urban Company, PhysicsWallah, Pine Labs, Lenskart, Ather Energy and Groww, spans sectors that until recently were better known to venture capital investors than to public market shareholders. Their market debuts have delivered sharp opening gains, intermittent pullbacks and, in some cases, extraordinary rallies, forcing investors to reassess how to value India’s tech-enabled growth stories.
From listing pop to valuation reality
Urban Company, the tech-driven marketplace for home and beauty services, listed on September 17 at Rs 162.25 on the NSE and Rs 161 on the BSE, well above its IPO issue price of Rs 103 per share. By the post-market close on November 20, the stock was trading at around Rs 144.80 on the BSE and Rs 144 on the NSE, still up about 40.6% from its issue price.PhysicsWallah entered the market on November 18 at around Rs 145 on the NSE and Rs 143.10 on the BSE, translating into a debut premium of roughly 33% over its IPO issue price of Rs 109. As of the close on November 20, the stock was at Rs 147 on the NSE, about 35% higher than its issue price.
Fintech firm Pine Labs listed on November 14 at Rs 242 on both the NSE and BSE, a 9.5% premium to its IPO price of Rs 221. The stock closed at Rs 239.25 on November 20, representing a gain of about 8.2% from the issue price.
Lenskart Solutions had a relatively muted start when it listed on November 10, opening at Rs 395 on the NSE and Rs 390 on the BSE, below its final IPO issue price of Rs 402. Sentiment stabilised in the following sessions. By November 20, the shares were trading at Rs 416.65 on the BSE, putting the stock about 3.6% cent above the issue price.
The most striking performance has come from Ather Energy. The electric two-wheeler maker listed on May 6 at Rs 328 on the NSE and Rs 326.05 on the BSE, marginally higher than its IPO price of Rs 321. By November 20, the stock had surged to Rs 700.05 on the NSE, marking a gain of 118% from the issue price.
Groww (Billionbrains Garage Ventures) made its debut on November 12 at around Rs 193.80, nearly double its IPO issue price of Rs 100. Despite subsequent volatility, the stock was trading at Rs 156.62 on the BSE as of November 20, still implying a gain of 57% from the issue price.
A recent pullback
In the past few sessions, however, several of these stocks, including Lenskart, Groww, PhysicsWallah and Pine Labs, have come under pressure.
Khushi Mistry, Research Analyst at Bonanza, said “New-age stocks like Lenskart, Groww, PhysicsWallah, and Pine Labs are down mainly due to profit booking after strong initial IPO rallies.” She added that “Investors are reassessing valuations amid weakening quarterly results and continuing losses in several companies.”
Mistry also pointed to broader macro headwinds, noting that “global factors like rising interest rates, geopolitical tensions, and inflation fears have widened the risk-off sentiment.”
However, Mistry framed the pullback as constructive for the longer term. “This correction is seen as a healthy reset, helping adjust inflated expectations and shifting focus toward fundamentals such as profitability, margin expansion, and sustainable growth.”
According to Mistry, this has made investors more discerning. “The market is becoming more selective with new-age tech valuations in this volatile environment.”
Buy, sell or hold?
On PhysicsWallah, Shivani Nyati, Head of Wealth at Swastika Investmart, attributed its strong debut to investor belief in the company’s “strong brand recall, affordable test-prep offerings, and its fast-growing hybrid model through both online platforms and PW Pathshala centers.” On strategy, she said: “Allottees may book partial profits and hold the remaining shares for medium-term growth with SL Rs 130.”
On Lenskart, Nyati pointed to the company’s vertically integrated model, in-house manufacturing, aggressive store expansion and data-driven supply chain, while also noting concerns around thin company-level margins, even though domestic store-level EBITDA margins exceed 30 per cent.
Nyati said medium-term to long-term investors may hold Lenskart shares with a stop-loss near Rs 350, while short-term traders may look to book profits and wait for better entry points.
On Groww, Nyati cited low customer acquisition costs, strong cross-selling from mutual funds to equities, a large base of monthly active users and consistent AUM growth as positives, while cautioning that elevated valuations and possible regulatory shifts present meaningful risks. She suggested that allotted investors hold the stock for medium- to long-term potential.
Prashanth Tapse of Mehta Equities echoed the stance, advising investors who received Groww shares to stay invested to benefit from the company’s structural growth pipeline. He had earlier pegged a medium-term target of Rs 125–130, now already exceeded, and advised non-allottees to accumulate only on meaningful corrections.
Together, these six listings mark a defining moment for India’s capital markets, signalling the arrival of a new generation of consumer-facing, technology-first companies on the mainboard. For Dalal Street’s new-age cohort, 2025 may be remembered not just as the year they went public, but as the year the market began to judge them by the same unforgiving standards as the old economy they now seek to replace.
Also read | Physicswallah’s mathematics puzzle: Stock ends 2% lower on BSE, 3% higher on NSE
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
