PIA's sky-high rally takes a breather

March 22, 2024 (MLN): Pakistan International Airlines Corp's (PSX: PIA) relentless rally took a breather on Friday after surging past record highs yesterday.

The stock price declined by 7.5% today following a remarkable streak of six consecutive days hitting the upper price limit.

Pakistan's loss-making airline has seen a bout of volatility. Despite today’s selloff, the stock price is up 2.37x this month, and a staggering 7.6x in the current fiscal year.

“PIA has witnessed an unbelievable non-stop surge in its share price following new government efforts to restructure and privatize it,” said Mohammad Sohail, CEO of Topline Securities.

This surge has propelled its market value from Rs57 billion to Rs133.7bn.

“However, the real intrigue lies in its limited free float, with only 189 million shares available out of 5,234m (floating only 3.6% as per PSX),” Mohammad Sohail noted.

He pointed out that with such a small float in the market, it is no surprise to see such abnormal price fluctuations.

For better and more efficient price discovery, listed companies should have a decent share float available for trading, he stressed.

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