Goldman Sachs, a global brokerage firm, maintained its Buy rating on Zomato but increased the target price from $170 to $240. With this adjustment, there might be a 30% increase in value from the previous closing price of ₹184.

Zomato shares saw a 3% increase following the brokerage firm’s increase in target price, hitting ₹190.4 on Friday during BSE trading. The development potential of its fast commerce business Blinkit is the main driver of the upside.

It also predicts that between the fiscal years 2024 and 2027, Blinkit’s Gross Order Value would expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 53%.

“We note that Blinkit’s implied valuation in our Zomato’s sum of the parts (SOTP) is (close to) $13 billion now, versus $2 billion in March 2023, with per share implied value of ₹119 higher than food delivery, at ₹98, for the first time,” Goldman Sachs mentioned in a note.

On the BSE, Zomato’s shares increased 1.9% during Friday’s trading session to hit ₹188.2. It has experienced an impressive increase of almost 50% so far this year, and over the last 12 months, it has gained 220%.

Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) questioned Zomato’s co-founder and CEO, Deepinder Goyal, hours after the company announced the launch of a ‘Pure Veg Mode’ and a ‘Pure Veg Fleet’ for customers who are strictly vegetarian. TGPWU wanted to know if Zomato ‘will now also filter out delivery workers who are vegetarian only to service this fleet’.

Shaik Salauddin, the founder and president of TGPWU, also questioned Deepinder Goyal about whether Zomato would in the future collect feedback from users regarding who can and cannot deliver meals.

Following Zomato’s latest action, Salauddin issued an official statement stating that it will only allow deliveries from restaurants that serve vegetarian meals, excluding those who serve both non-vegetarian and vegetarian options.

“Our question to Deepinder ji: will Zomato now also filter out delivery workers who are vegetarian only to service this ‘Pure Veg Fleet’, identifiable by green delivery bags?” Salauddin questioned in an official statement.

“If Zomato has today launched a ‘Pure Veg Fleet’ in response to customer feedback and requirements, then it will in the future also take customer feedback about who can deliver their food and who cannot? Will it filter our delivery brothers and sisters by caste, community and religion?” he continued.

Salauddin further added, “Will Zomato assure its delivery workers that it will also address the safety and dignity of our brothers and sisters in the future?”

Goyal penned down on X, “India has the largest percentage of vegetarians in the world, and one of the most important feedback we’ve gotten from them is that they are very particular about how their food is cooked, and how their food is handled.”

He continued, “To solve for their dietary preferences, we are today, launching a “Pure Veg Mode” along with a “Pure Veg Fleet” on Zomato, for customers who have a 100% vegetarian dietary preference.” He did, however, emphasize that the new service does not support or offend any political or religious beliefs.

‘’The company has received an order for FY 2018-19 pursuant to the audit of GST returns and accounts by the Deputy Commissioner of State Tax, Gujarat raising demand of GST of ₹4,11,68,604/-, along with applicable interest and penalty totaling to ₹8,57,77,696,” stated Zomato in an exchange filing.

Zomato claims that the company addressed all the points raised in its show cause notice and provided pertinent documents, circulars, and other information that the authorities did not seem to have taken into account in their decision.

‘’The company believes that it has a strong case to defend the matter before the appellate authorities without any financial impact,” added the venture.Ant Financial Group, which is a division of Alibaba, the massive Chinese e-commerce company, is the parent company of Antfin Singapore Holding Pte. Antfin Singapore Holding Pte offloaded more than 17,63,95,675 shares in two tranches, representing a 2.02% holding in Zomato, according to the bulk trade data on the BSE.

According to CNBC-Awaaz on Tuesday, Ant Group’s affiliate in China, Antfin Singapore Holdings Pte, is expected to sell up to 17.64 crore shares, or up to 2% of Zomato’s market value, for ₹2,800 crore in a block sale.

According to the report, the floor price for the block offer has been set at ₹159.4 per share, which is 4% less than the current market price of Zomato stock.

On Tuesday, Zomato’s shares ended the day 1.8% lower at ₹166.8 on the BSE.

Zomato’s stock reached a new high on Friday, rising over 5% to ₹173.5, as increased profitability opens the door for further expansion.

Due to the consistent performance of its main business and the rapid growth of fast commerce, Zomato achieved a consolidated net profit of ₹138 crore for the third quarter that concluded on December 31, 2023.

The total cost came to ₹3,383 crore, which was more than previous quarter. In the same period last year, it was valued at ₹2,485 crore.

“At this point, we expect GOV to continue growing at 20 per cent-plus YoY, and perhaps accelerate further if we see more than expected market share gains and revival in macro consumer demand,” Deepinder Goyal, managing director & CEO at Zomato mentioned.

Zomato reported ₹2,025 crore in adjusted revenue for its meal delivery operations during the third quarter of FY24. It was valued at ₹1,565 crore one year prior.