2018 Stock Market Crash: Analyzing the Top 10 Biggest Losers & Investment Opportunities

The 10 top losers of 2018 lost between 70% and a whopping 93% of their value. In a single year. That means, if you invested in the stock that made the least fall this year, you would have still lost 70% of your investment!

The reason for this fall could be multiple. The year 2018 has not been a good one for the Indian stock markets.

Note: there are certain firms which are not a part of this list because they are very small firms with very low market capitalization.

Top losers of 2018

Without wasting more time, here is the list of shares that made investors cry the most.

10. Srei Infra Finance

Srei Infra stock

At number 10 on our top losers list is Srei Infra Finance. It is an NBFC based out of Kolkata, West Bengal. It has a lot of debt on its books which is a result of taking many risky bets.

This company’s share price has been on a consistent decline since July 2017 – when it last touched its peak price of ₹137 pers share.

Srei Infra share price:

Jan 3, 2018 (₹) Jan 4, 2019 (₹) Loss (%) 98.4 32.9 66.56

9. Infibeam Avenues Ltd

Infibeam stock

Infibeam is India’s first e-commerce company to get listed on the exchanges and is sadly on our list of top losers.

Its IPO was launched in 2015.

Its services range from digital payments, online retailing, e-commerce software, to other internet services.

This Ahmedabad, Gujrat headquartered company with around 1200 employees launched on the exchange at about ₹44. It touched its peak in September 2018 going up as high as ₹235 per share – from where it fell to around ₹47 where it is today.

The crash came a day ahead of Infibeam’s annual general meeting (AGM).

Infibeam share price:

Jan 3, 2018 (₹) Jan 4, 2019 (₹) Loss (%) 143.15 44.95 68.59

8. Jaiprakash Associates (Jaypee Group)

Jaypee stock

Jaypee Group is an infrastructure company that has its work spread over sectors like Engineering & Construction, Power, Cement, Real Estate, Hospitality, Expressways, and more.

Jaiprakash Associates is also famous for having built the famous Yamuna Expressway and the Budd International Circuit.

 

The Jaiprakash Associates Group has a lot of debt on its hands and this is showing on the company’s share price.

Jaiprakash Associates share price:

Jan 3, 2018 (₹) Jan 4, 2019 (₹) Loss (%) 24.25 7.59 68.70

7. Shankara Building Products Ltd

Shankara Building stock

Shankara Building Products Ltd debuted on the exchange on April 7, 2017 at ₹686. It was a greatly talked about IPO.

After its launch in April 2017, the stock went up nearly 4 times in value to reach a peak of ₹2127 in December 2017.

Everybody was sure this stock was a multibagger.

And then, in 2018, it tanked a whopping 70%!

Shankara Building Products share price:

Jan 3, 2018 (₹) Jan 4, 2019 (₹) Loss (%) 1776.15 535.25 69.86

6. Jet Airways

Jet Airways stock

India’s second largest airliner has been in troubled waters for quite a while now.

 

With debt, delayed staff salaries, and other problems.

While passengers have not stopped using their service, investors are already spooked and are staying away from the Jet Airways stock.

Jet Airways share price:

Jan 3, 2018 (₹) Jan 4, 2019 (₹) Loss (%) 869.35 244.8 71.84

5. Reliance Naval & Engineering Ltd

Reliance Naval & Engineering stock

This Reliance company lost a lot of value very sharply since the start of 2018 till about May 2018.

After May 2018, it has been more or less in the same price range.

Reliance Naval & Engineering share price:

Jan 3, 2018 (₹) Jan 4, 2019 (₹) Loss (%) 58.55 13.95 76.17

4. Manpasand Beverages

Manpasand Beverages stock

This hotly discussed stock lost 40% of its value over a few trading sessions in May 2018.

The stock started showing red flags when the auditor said that a significant amount of information requested from the company was not shared multiple times.

The company was being audited by Delloite.

Securities company Motilal Oswal which had a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock at that point also changed it to ‘Under Review’.

Manpasand share price:

Jan 3, 2018 (₹) Jan 4, 2019 (₹) Loss (%) 472.9 85 82.02

3. PC Jewellers

PCJ stock

This jewelry company has been in the news for many reasons in 2018.

From the transfer of ownership of 2% of the total shares to an unknown relative of the promoters to a robbery in one of their Gurugram stores, and even news of links with Vakrangee.

 

PC Jewellers was once touted to be the next Titan share. Titan is India’s only corporately governed and clean jewelry business.

PC Jewellers is now facing accusations of lack of corporate governance.

PC Jewellers share

Jan 3, 2018 (₹) Jan 4, 2019 (₹) Loss (%) 475.85 81 82.97

2. IL&FS Transportation

IL&FS Transportation stock

The recent IL&FS fiasco is much talked about.

IL&FS Transportation is a subsidiary of the larger IL&FS Ltd.

It is one of the largest NBFCs in India. It recently defaulted and sent India’s debt mutual fund market into a tizzy.

When the parent organization is unable to tend to its debts, its subsidiaries will also fail at paying their debts on time.

In anticipation of the same, IL&FS Transportation share price also tanked heavily in 2018.

It really is no surprise that this stock is on this list of top losers in 2018.

IL&FS Transportation share price:

Jan 3, 2018 (₹) Jan 4, 2019 (₹) Loss (%) 92.9 12.61 86.42

1. Vakrangee Ltd

Vakrangee stock

Vakrangee has been in the news for all the wrong reasons in 2018.

For long, Vakrangee has been blamed for corporate misgovernance and other such wrongdoings.

In that light, it is not surprising that the stock has tumbled down to where it is today. In our list of top losers 2018 – this stock eroded investor’s wealth like no other stock.

This is the stock that suffered the most in 2018 – losing close to 92% of its value from a year ago.

Vakrangee share price:

Jan 3, 2018 (₹) Jan 4, 2019 (₹) Loss (%) 417.15 34.7 91.68

Stocks to buy

Which of these stocks seems like a good buy?

I am sorry to say, but this really has no answer.

These stocks are losers because of problems they are facing. Never invest in a stock simply because it was high at some point and is now at a low.

There really is no guarantee that the stock will climb back up again.

Always carry out your own research before investing in a stock.

Stock investing seems hard?

There is another easier way. Let an expert handle your stock investments for you.

Mutual Funds

Mutual funds come in many types and categories. The ones that invest in shares are called equity mutual funds.

In mutual funds, you basically outsource your stock investments to an expert. The expert is called a fund manager. He/she will manage your money. This is in exchange for a small fee called the expense ratio.

You can sign up on Groww (Android app, iOS app, and website) in minutes and start investing.

Learn everything you want to learn about mutual funds here: Beginner’s Guide to Mutual Funds.

Happy investing!

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are of the author and not of Groww.