One 97 Communications (Paytm) shares rose 4 per cent in Friday trading on hopes that the company will be able to meet its September 2023 breakeven guidance. The stock rose in response to a media report quoting Paytm's Vijay Shekhar Sharma as saying that the company may be able to deliver profit ahead of schedule. 

Following the news, the stock rose 4.24 per cent to a high of Rs 554.95 on the BSE. Goldman Sachs said earlier this week that Paytm could be Ebitda profitable by March quarter – two quarters ahead of guidance – and that the December quarter would be another strong quarter for Paytm, with revenue growth of 45 percent year on year and a further improvement in adjusted Ebitda losses (by 58 per cent sequentially) to Rs 70 billion.

According to Goldman Sachs, Paytm's valuation multiples are lower than the global peer group for a growth outlook that is better or comparable to the peer group. Paytm said in a business update earlier this month that total merchant gross merchandise value (GMV) processed through its platform totaled Rs 3.46 lakh crore ($42 billion) for the December quarter, representing a 38 per cent YoY (year-on-year) growth.

Moreover, the overall FDI shareholding in Paytm has declined from 71.49 per cent to 66.12 per cent, mainly because of SoftBank offloading a 4.53 per cent stake. The Japanese conglomerate, through its Vision Fund, continues to own 12.92 per cent of Paytm. Meanwhile, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) holding in the company has gone up by 0.91 per cent to 6.68 per cent. The number of FPIs holding the Paytm stock has increased from 88 to 128 in the third quarter, representing a net addition of 40 investors.