The tepid listing trend in India’s primary market continued on Monday, as eyewear retailer Lenskart Solutions made a weak debut on the stock exchanges. The company’s shares opened below the issue price, marking the third consecutive IPO—after Studds Accessories and Orkla India—to list at a discount. Notably, Lenskart is also the only major IPO of 2025 with an issue size above ₹4,000 crore to make a negative market debut so far this year.

The last time three IPOs listed in the red consecutively was in October, when Om Freight Forwarders, Glottis, and Fabtech made weak market debuts. If Lenskart shares end the day in the red, it would mark the 37th discounted listing of 2025.

So far this year, a total of 91 mainboard IPOs have hit the market. Of these, 47 have listed with gains, while 36 have debuted in the red—underscoring the cautious sentiment among investors despite strong demand during subscriptions.

Lenskart shares make tepid start

Shares of Lenskart Solutions listed at ₹395 apiece on the NSE, down 1.75% from the issue price of ₹402, while the Peyush Bansal-led eyewear retailer debuted at ₹390 on the BSE, a discount of 2.99% to the IPO price.

Post listing, the stock slipped as much as 11.5% to hit a low of ₹355.70 apiece. However, it later rebounded, erasing early losses to rise 2.93% to ₹413.80 on the BSE. At the time of reporting, Lenskart shares were trading at ₹406.20, up 1.04%, valuing the company at ₹70,366 crore.

Last week, Studds Accessories made a muted debut on the bourses on November 7, with its shares ending 4.2% lower at ₹560.30 on the first day of trading. A day earlier, Orkla India shares had also listed at a discount, debuting at ₹713.65 on the NSE against the issue price of ₹730, a decline of 2.24%.

Despite concerns over its steep valuation and mixed analyst reviews, Lenskart Solutions’ ₹7,278-crore IPO turned out to be a blockbuster, drawing bids worth ₹1.13 lakh crore and getting subscribed 28.27 times on the final day of bidding. The issue saw overwhelming demand from institutional investors, led by qualified institutional buyers (QIBs). The portion reserved for QIBs was booked 40.36 times, followed by non-institutional investors and retail investors, whose quotas received 18.23x and 7.56x bids, respectively. The employee quota was subscribed nearly five times.

The public issue, which opened for bidding on October 31, was subscribed 1.13 times on Day 1 and 2.02 times on Day 2. The momentum picked up sharply on the final day, driven by robust participation across all investor categories, culminating in a stellar 28.27 times overall subscription.

One of the most closely tracked public offerings of the year, Lenskart’s ₹7,278-crore IPO comprised a fresh issue of ₹2,150 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of ₹5,128 crore, valuing the company at around ₹69,726 crore.

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