Shares of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance jumped 3.5 per cent to ₹565.65 on the NSE Wednesday morning, with the stock touching an intraday high of ₹584.75, as investors reacted to the company’s FY2026 results declared on Tuesday. Trading volume of 40 lakh shares worth ₹227 crore had already changed hands by 9.49 AM, with buy orders outpacing sells 54 per cent to 46 per cent.
The stock remains well off its 52-week high of ₹706.80 hit in January 2026 and is down nearly 16 per cent year-to-date, underperforming the Nifty 500 which has shed around 5.7 per cent in the same period. The total market cap stands at ₹82,128 crore.
Brokerages were largely constructive on the results. HSBC retained a Buy with a target price of ₹690, noting that Q4FY26 performance beat expectations on growth and margins, though it flagged that unfavourable assumption changes weighed on return on embedded value. Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight call with a TP of ₹670, pointing to VNB and margin beats helped by stronger retail protection and a favourable yield curve, while flagging weak operating variance and persistency as concerns. JM Financial kept its Buy rating with a revised TP of ₹640, up from ₹611, citing outperformance on margins despite the GST 2.0 headwind. UBS was more cautious with a Neutral and ₹760 target, while Bernstein held a Market Perform at ₹700, noting management refrained from giving FY27 guidance.
For FY2026, the insurer posted a 34.6 per cent rise in profit after tax to ₹1,600 crore. Value of New Business grew 10.9 per cent to ₹2,629 crore, with margins expanding 190 basis points to 24.7 per cent. Total APE stood at ₹10,641 crore, up 2.2 per cent year-on-year. Retail protection APE was a standout, surging 32.3 per cent for the full year and 60.5 per cent in Q4 alone, partly aided by the GST reduction on term insurance that took effect in September 2025. Embedded Value grew 10.5 per cent to ₹52,989 crore, with a return on embedded value of 11.9 per cent.
The company noted that it will adopt Ind AS accounting from FY2028, availing a one-year forbearance. Analysts at JM Financial noted current valuations of 1.1x March 2028 estimated EV price in the weak growth environment, suggesting the stock could re-rate if business momentum picks up as macro conditions improve.
Published on April 15, 2026