Reliance Industries [stockquote]RELIANCE[/stockquote] has been a permanent disappointment since 2005 and this year has been no different. The stock is down 7.46% compared to the Nifty’s 5.35%. The stock just doesn’t seem to have the zing in spite of the bonus in 2009, the more than Rs. 8/share in dividends and stock buy-backs.
After breaking its up-trend line, the chart shows that Reliance is headed towards its most recent support area at Rs. 770 levels. RSI at mid-20’s is basically plumbing the depths at this point – the stock has bounced whenever it has seen such dire readings. However, just about every other technical indicator is bearish. Its 18-day SMA cut the 9-day SMA; Aroon is bearish; MACD histograms are not helping either.
The company remains a cash machine. So much so that Mukesh Ambani is using to enter pretty much all sectors of the Indian economy. It looks like by the end of this decade, Reliance will be dabbling in everything from telecommunications to power to banking. So even though Reliance is classified as a petrochemical major, its undergoing a transformation into a wide winged conglomerate.
The stock, however, is not cheap. With a PE of 12.84, it is trading above other oil multinationals like Exxon (9.30) and Total (7.83). It has a sub-market beta of 0.86 which could have been good news except that its Bull & Bear betas are skewed towards the downside.
To conclude, we are a short-term BUY on RELIANCE. We expect a bounce off these over-sold conditions and a support at Rs. 770 levels. The long-term is a bit hazy. The company is at risk of losing focus by spreading itself too thin on vanity projects and blowing away its cash-hoard on capital intensive projects with low returns and intense competition.
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