ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company's shares declined more than 3 percent on Thursday, erasing the previous session's gains. This drop came even as several brokerages maintained a positive outlook on the stock.
The insurer had reported stronger-than-expected value creation in the April-June quarter, driven by a sharp improvement in profitability margins. Shares ended 3.08 percent lower at Rs 509 on Thursday, after gaining 3.78 percent on Wednesday following the earnings announcement.
The stock is now down 24.5 percent so far in 2026, compared to a 7.9 percent decline in the Nifty 50. The company's market capitalisation stands at around Rs 73,850 crore.
ICICI Prudential Life reported a 27.8 percent year-on-year increase in net profit for the June quarter, reaching Rs 386 crore. New business premium rose 21.3 percent to Rs 4,866 crore, which was in line with market expectations.
The annualised premium equivalent (APE) grew 14.6 percent to Rs 2,136 crore. The value of new business (VNB), a key profitability metric, increased 24.9 percent year-on-year to Rs 571 crore.
Although the absolute VNB figure fell slightly short of consensus estimates, the VNB margin expanded to 26.7 percent from 24.5 percent a year earlier. This comfortably exceeded the Street estimate of 24.8 percent.
The company's board also approved a proposal to rename it as ICICI Life Insurance Limited, subject to regulatory approvals. Brokerages noted that the standout feature of the quarter was the stronger-than-expected VNB margin, which offset softer growth in APE.
Nomura maintained its Buy rating with a target price of Rs 710. The brokerage said the 26.7 percent VNB margin was well ahead of expectations and above the company's FY26 margin of 24.7 percent. It expects 12 percent APE growth and 15 percent VNB growth in FY27, while cautioning that supply overhang remains a key risk.
HSBC also retained its Buy rating with a target price of Rs 690. The brokerage said ICICI Prudential Life delivered a VNB beat on stronger margins despite broadly in-line APE growth. It expects recovery in APE growth and continued margin expansion to support earnings, adding that the stock's valuation of about 1.1 times FY28 embedded value is attractive.