Mumbai: Shares of InterGlobe Aviation Limited, the parent company of IndiGo, fell sharply on Thursday after global brokerage Citi lowered its target price for the stock.

Citi cut its target by 10.5 per cent to ₹5,100 per share from ₹5,700. Despite the reduction, the brokerage maintained a “buy” rating, noting a potential 17 per cent upside from the stock’s previous close.

The brokerage highlighted several challenges for IndiGo over the past year. Early in the year, the airline was affected by an adverse geopolitical environment. Later, stricter flight duty time limitation (FDTL) norms led to numerous flight cancellations, impacting third-quarter performance.

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Fresh tensions involving Iran, Israel, and the United States added further uncertainty, particularly affecting international operations. Rising fuel prices and a weakening Indian rupee could also pressure profits in the coming months.

On the positive side, IndiGo regained domestic market share in January, rising to 63.6 per cent from 59.6 per cent in December. Citi also noted that the airline maintains a strong cost structure compared to many competitors.

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Following the brokerage update, InterGlobe shares fell as much as 3.6 per cent, hitting an intraday low of ₹4,194.1. By 1:52 pm, the stock was trading 1.61 per cent lower at ₹4,280.8. Over the past month, the stock has dropped around 14.5 per cent.

IANS