IITian Vidit Aatrey joins billionaire club as Meesho shares rocket 74% from issue price

Vidit Aatrey, the CEO and co-founder of Meesho, has officially joined the billionaire ranks. This comes as shares of Meesho Ltd. have soared over 74% since their initial public offering (IPO). Investor enthusiasm surrounding the e-commerce company's performance following its market debut continues to build.

The stock price of Meesho reached Rs 193.50 on the BSE Tuesday, exceeding both its listing-day high of Rs 177.50 and the listing price of Rs 161.20. The impressive surge from the issue price of Rs 111 has solidified what some are calling a blockbuster debut for the company.

Aatrey, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi where he studied Electrical Engineering, holds an 11.1% stake in Meesho, equivalent to 47.25 crore shares. This stake now translates to a net worth of Rs 9,142.87 crore, approximately $1.005 billion. Sanjeev Barnwal, the other co-founder, owns 31.6 crore shares, valuing his stake at Rs 6,114.6 crore.

Meesho's shares made their debut on the stock market on December 10. The stock listed at a premium over its issue price and concluded its first trading session with a 53% gain above the IPO price of Rs 111. Following a brief two-day dip, the stock rebounded with a gain of over 3% on Monday, which extended into Tuesday, despite broader market pressures.

The trading activity surrounding Meesho has been notable, with a turnover of Rs 124.38 crore and a total traded quantity of 66.84 lakh shares. According to BSE data, Meesho’s market capitalization is currently pegged at Rs 85,207.91 crore on a full basis and Rs 5,279.14 crore on a free-float basis.

Fueling this rally is the first institutional rating for Meesho. Choice Institutional Equities has initiated coverage of the stock with a 'Buy' rating and a target price of Rs 200. Choice Broking believes that a “faster road to profitability” is a key driver. They value Meesho at 4x FY28E EV/Revenue, supported by peer benchmarking and a three-stage DCF model. The brokerage anticipates a 31% revenue CAGR between FY25 and FY28, driven by logistics efficiencies and deep value-commerce penetration.

Choice highlighted Meesho’s focus on Tier-2 and Tier-3 users through its zero-commission, low-AOV, discovery-led platform, citing a competitive advantage in user growth and operational scale. They project Meesho’s EBITDA to turn positive by FY27E. Currently, Meesho trades at 2.4x FY28E EV/Revenue, compared to a peer average of 5.4x, suggesting potential for re-rating as the company's fundamentals improve.

That said, the reality is a bit more complicated. Choice also pointed out execution risks, including a high dependence on cash-on-delivery (77% of orders) and logistical challenges. Despite these risks, the initiation positions Meesho as a key value e-commerce player in India’s largely untapped online retail market.

The IPO, valued at over Rs 5,000 crore, witnessed strong demand from both institutional and retail investors, being subscribed 79 times overall. The portion reserved for Qualified Institutional Buyers was oversubscribed 120 times, setting the stage for the post-listing surge that has now created a new billionaire.

Vidit Aatrey's Background

Vidit Aatrey completed his BTech in Electrical Engineering at IIT Delhi between 2008 and 2012. After graduating, he worked in operations at ITC Limited in Chennai from June 2012 to May 2014. Subsequently, he moved to InMobi in Bengaluru, focusing on strategy from June 2014 to June 2015. Aatrey has served as the CEO of Meesho since June 2015. Born in 1991, he is approximately 34 years old. He has received recognition in young leadership rankings, including Forbes 30 Under 30 (Asia & India, 2018) and Fortune 40 Under 40 (2021).