PB Fintech Ltd. has surged to become the world's best-performing stock this year among big financial technology businesses, as green shoots grow in unsecured lending following a central bank crackdown.
In 2024, the shares increased by over 110%, the greatest among firms with a market capitalization of at least $1 billion in the 52-member Solactive FinTech Index. The index, whose biggest constituents are Intuit Inc. and Fiserv Inc., is up 15%. A business line that stalled under the Reserve Bank of India's regulations "seems to have bottomed out and has started edging upwards," started Yashish Dahiya, CEO, PB Fintech Group in an interview.
PB Fintech, which operates insurance marketplace Policybazaar and credit provider Paisabazaar, went public in 2021 and turned a profit in the fiscal year ending March following a string of losses over the previous few fiscal years.
According to Savi Jain, Co-founder of portfolio management firm 2Point2 Capital Advisors, the company faces ongoing hurdles such as governmental initiatives to commoditize protection goods and competitors looking to create their own direct-to-consumer web channels.
Furthermore, as per Bloomberg statistics, PB Fintech has eight analyst buy recommendations, seven holds, and four sells, with an average 12-month price objective of 1,485 rupees ($17.7), which is approximately 11% lower than the stock's current price.
