shares rallied more than 10 per cent in early trade on Monday after the company reported a sharp rise in fourth-quarter profit, aided by strong premium growth and improved operating metrics.
At 10.14 am, it traded at ₹85.18 on the NSE, hitting a high of ₹89.77 from the previous close of ₹81.29
Niva Bupa shares in focus
It posted a 67 per cent y-o-y jump in net profit to ₹345 crore for the March quarter, compared with ₹206 crore in the corresponding period last year. Total income during the quarter rose to ₹2,078 crore from ₹1,565 crore a year ago, while total expenses increased to ₹1,795 crore from ₹1,470 crore.
Gross written premium grew strongly to ₹2,880 crore in Q4FY26 from ₹2,079 crore in the year-ago quarter, reflecting continued momentum in policy sales and market share gains.
However, the solvency ratio declined to 2.49 as of March 31, 2026, compared with 3.03 at the end of the corresponding quarter last year.
The company also announced the elevation of Ankur Kharbanda, currently executive director and chief business officer, to the role of executive director and deputy chief executive officer with effect from May 8, 2026.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Krishnan Ramachandran said the company’s market share gains and improvement in claim settlement ratio reflected customer trust and its continued focus on delivering superior health insurance experiences.
Morgan Stanley maintained its equal-weight rating on the stock and raised the target price to ₹91 from ₹84. The brokerage said the company reported a strong IFRS profit beat driven by lower operating expenses and improvement in the combined insurance service ratio (CISR).
The brokerage highlighted that FY26 CISR improved 160 basis points to 101.4 per cent despite higher retail and group loss ratios, while the operating expenses ratio declined sharply to 36.5 per cent from 39.2 per cent in FY25.
Morgan Stanley said management is targeting a CISR of 99 per cent by FY29 through tighter cost control. The brokerage also raised its FY27 IFRS profit estimates by 14 per cent on lower operating expense assumptions, although it cautioned that retail loss ratios are expected to worsen gradually as the portfolio seasons.