Nazara Tanks On Gaming Ban Amid A Bullish Week For New-Age Tech Stocks

New-age tech stocks rallied this week as the GST rate structure overhaul announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi boosted investor sentiment in the Indian equities market. Thirty three out of the 36 new-age tech stocks under Inc42’s coverage gained in a range of 0.16% to almost 28% this week.

Following its public listing this week, omnichannel jewellery brand BlueStone became the latest addition to Inc42’s list of new-age tech stocks.

The total market capitalisation of 37 new-age tech stocks stood at $105.33 Bn at the end of this week as against $100.2 Bn m-cap of 36 stocks a week ago.

Meanwhile, three companies – Nazara Technologies, MapmyIndia and EaseMyTrip – ended the week in the red. Nazara was the biggest loser, with its shares crashing 18.41% to end the week at INR 1,155.75 following the Centre’s ban on online real money games.

MapmyIndia dipped 2.73% to end the week at INR 1,729.70, while shares of EaseMyTrip touched a fresh all-time low at INR 8.76 on Friday (August 22) before gaining slightly to end at INR 8.96. The travel tech company’s shares ended 2.61% lower on a week-on-week basis.

Among the gainers, NSE SME-listed TAC Infosec zoomed 27.54% to end at INR 1,086.65. The gains came on the back of the company’s announcement that its US-based subsidiary CyberScope’s board approved a proposal to initiate the IPO process in the US.

The subsidiary, which claims to be one of the leading audit authorities in the crypto space, plans to file its IPO papers confidentially with the US’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a listing on the Nasdaq.

The second biggest gainer this week was BlackBuck, with its shares soaring 18.4% to end the week at INR 644. The stock touched an all time high at INR 650 during the week. Other new-age tech companies like ixigo, Paytm, Yatra and Delhivery also touched fresh 52-week highs or all-time highs this week.

Now, let’s take a look at the performance of the broader market this week.

GST Optimism Lifts Market

The Indian equities market gained for the second consecutive week, with Sensex and Nifty 50 rising 0.9% each to 81,306.85 and 24,870.10, respectively. While the benchmark indices rallied significantly in the first four trading sessions of the week, they fell during the final trading session.

As per analysts, PM Modi’s announcement of “next-generation GST reforms” during his address to the nation on the Independence Day improved investor sentiment.

The Centre is mulling to simplify the current four-slab GST structure into a two-slab system – a 5% rate for “merit goods” and an 18% rate for standard items. Luxury and sin goods will be taxed at 40%. The final decision on the new rates will be taken by the GST Council.

Analysts said that the move will bring down the effective taxation rate, which will provide a boost to consumption. Adding to the positive tone was S&P’s upgrade of India’s sovereign credit rating.

“However, a cautious undertone persisted due to mixed geopolitical developments and uncertainty over policy rates ahead of US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s address at Jackson Hole, which triggered profit-taking,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP of research at Religare Broking.

Notably, Powell hinted at rate cuts by the Fed in his address after the close of the Indian markets.

In the coming week, investors will monitor domestic data releases closely, including the HSBC Manufacturing, Services, and Composite PMIs, and IIP and GDP prints, as per analysts.

Now, let’s take a look at the performance of Nazara and BlackBuck this week.

BlackBuck Touches New Highs

Logistics major BlackBuck’s shares continued their upward movement, which began after the company released its Q1 numbers earlier this month, this week. The stock closed the week at INR 644, up over 18%. The company’s market cap zoomed to $1.32 Bn at the end of the week.

BlackBuck’s profit rose 17.5% YoY to INR 33.7 Cr in Q1 FY26, while operating revenue jumped nearly 56% YoY to INR 143.6 Cr.

Following the results, brokerage firm JM Financial reiterated its ‘Buy’ rating on the stock and increased its price target (PT) to INR 620 from INR 580 earlier. “We believe BlackBuck has built a unique business model solving for key customer pain-points,” it said.

Other brokerage firms are also bullish on the stock.

As a result, BlackBuck’s shares have gained about 32% following the disclosure of its Q1 numbers.

Besides, MSCI announced inclusion of BlackBuck in its MSCI India Small Cap Index earlier this month. The inclusion, expected to come into effect on Monday (August 26), may lead to an inflow of $5 Mn in the company.

Nazara Tumbles On Gaming Ban

After months of upward movement, shares of Nazara crashed this week amid the swift passage of the “Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025” by the Parliament.

The Bill bans online real money games (RMG). While Nazara said it doesn’t have direct exposure to RMG business, its shares tanked as investors were likely spooked by the company’s stake in Moonshine Technologies, the parent company of PokerBaazi.

Nazara holds over 46% stake in Moonshine, with a total investment of over INR 832 Cr.

Brokerage ICICI Securities downgraded the stock to ‘REDUCE’ from ‘ADD’ and slashed its PT to INR 1,100. “We had earlier assigned INR 400 valuation to Moonshine… Given the ban on RMG, we now cut this to zero,” it said.

Nazara’s management repeatedly tried to allay investors’ fears this week by clarifying that RMG contributes “NIL” to its consolidated revenue and EBITDA.

The company has emphasised that its growth is driven by its diversified portfolio, with over 80% of its revenue coming from international markets, which makes its business resilient to disruptions in the Indian market.

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