Persistent Systems Limited listed on the BSE and NSE yesterday. There was a listing ceremony on the NSE where the share opened at Rs 361.60 while it opened at Rs 400 on the BSE. The highs were Rs 448 on the BSE and 447.30 on the NSE respectively. The lows were Rs 386 on the BSE and Rs 361.60 on the NSE.

The share had a total traded volume of 241.76 lakh shares which is almost 4.5 times the IPO size of 54.19 lakh shares. The delivery volume is 33.57 lakh shares which is 13.89% of the traded volume but is 61.95% of the IPO size.

These days for mid size issues it has almost become a norm for over 50% delivery of IPO size. It is indeed surprising that when minimum reservation of 50% or in most cases 60% is made for QIB’s (Qualified Institutional Investors) how there can be day one delivery in excess of 50% or as high as 65%. We were always told that QIB’s are long term players and don’t sell on day one at 9 am. It appears the concept of long term itself has changed. Probably waiting for allotment and selling on day one only is medium term investment.

The share has closed with a gain of Rs 97 or roughly 31% over the issue price of Rs 310. In normal circumstances this would have been an excellent performance, but in the case of Persistent it is not so simply because grey market premiums had touched 200 plus. Considering those numbers the closing price and the high of the day at Rs 448 or a gain of a mere Rs 138 is unsatisfactory.

The share was under pressure for most of the day and closed towards the low holding on to just above the Rs 400 mark. Institutional response to the Persistent IPO was mind boggling as it was subscribed 144 times and in the HNI category 107 times.

It would be interesting to see how the share fares today as it appears the listing day blues and selling pressure should be over today.