Eternal Shares Jump 9% on Jefferies’ Major Endorsement

Shares of Eternal, a prominent player in India’s consumer and food delivery space, surged by 9% in trading today. This significant jump followed a major vote of confidence from global brokerage firm Jefferies. The firm has added Eternal to its prestigious India model portfolio, labeling the stock a clear ‘FPI favourite’.

Brokerage Backing Drives Investor Confidence

Jefferies’ decision to include Eternal in its model portfolio is a powerful signal to investors. A model portfolio represents a brokerage’s curated selection of stocks it expects to outperform the market. This move often triggers immediate buying interest from funds and retail investors who track the firm’s recommendations. For Eternal, the endorsement comes with particularly bullish language and a street-high target price, suggesting Jefferies sees more room for the stock to run.

The brokerage pointed to Eternal’s strong growth trajectory and its improving profit margins as key reasons for the upgrade. In a competitive market, a company’s ability to grow revenue while also expanding its margins is a classic sign of operational strength and pricing power. Jefferies believes Eternal is successfully executing on both fronts.

Quick Commerce Success and Delivery Recovery

A specific highlight from Jefferies’ analysis was Eternal’s success in the fast-growing ‘quick commerce’ segment. This refers to ultra-fast delivery of groceries and essentials, often within 10 to 30 minutes. Eternal has effectively captured a meaningful share of this new market, which is becoming increasingly important for consumer companies in India’s urban centers.

This strategic success is reflected in the company’s recent financial performance. Eternal’s third-quarter results showed robust growth in both profit and revenue. Critically, Jefferies noted a recovery in food delivery demand. After a period of slower growth post-pandemic, a rebound in this core business provides a solid foundation for Eternal’s overall earnings. The combination of a legacy business recovering and a new high-growth segment accelerating creates a compelling story for investors.

What This Means for the Market

The sharp rise in Eternal’s share price today demonstrates the market’s responsiveness to analyst upgrades, especially from top-tier global firms like Jefferies. The ‘FPI favourite’ tag is particularly noteworthy. FPI stands for Foreign Portfolio Investors, whose large-scale investments are crucial for Indian equities. A stock favoured by this group often enjoys sustained buying pressure and higher valuations.

For general investors, this development underscores the importance of tracking not just a company’s earnings, but also its strategic positioning in emerging trends like quick commerce. Eternal’s case shows how a traditional consumer business can reinvent part of its model to capture new growth, thereby attracting fresh analyst coverage and investor capital. As Jefferies sets its street-high price target, all eyes will be on Eternal to see if its operational performance can continue to justify this rising market confidence.