Urban Company shares zoom 15% after Q1 results. Why Motilal Oswal raised target price
Despite the sharp loss, Motilal Oswal retained its ‘Neutral’ rating on the stock while raising its target price to Rs 140.
The sharp losses were led by InstaHelp, the company’s latest instant maid services. The company reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of Rs 132 crore for the quarter during Q1. Its EBITDA loss per order improved to Rs 346, from Rs 447 in Q4 FY26, driven by network densification, the company said.
Urban Company said on Friday that it will prioritise market leadership in the instant househelp segment even as margins remain under pressure. The Gurugram-based company, which went public on Dalal Street last August, competes with Lightspeed-backed Snabbit and General Catalyst-backed Pronto in the 10-minute househelp market.
Also read | Urban Company Q1 Results: Firm posts Rs 92 crore loss vs profit year ago; revenue rises 44% YoY
Motilal Oswal on Urban Company share price
Motilal Oswal maintained its ‘Neutral’ rating on the shares of Urban Company, but increased its target price to Rs 140 apiece. This implies more than 8% upside potential from the stock’s previous closing price.
The domestic brokerage noted that the company’s NTV stood at Rs 1.5 billion, rising 42% YoY and beating its estimate of 36% YoY growth. InstaHelp NTC however missed estimate, while overall India consumer services and native business was better than expected.
Motilal Oswal believes that the core marketplace is now operating from a much stronger base than a year ago, and InstaHelp TAM now better defined, but profitability still hinges on pricing. “However, we believe the key monitorable remains the industry’s ability to gradually normalize…While loss per order improved to Rs 346 (vs. Rs 447 in Q4 FY26), the company continues to prioritize market leadership over near-term profits and expects InstaHelp to reach breakeven only by FY31. We continue to factor elevated InstaHelp investments into our estimates,” it added.While Urban Company remains well positioned to benefit from the long-term formalization of home services, Motilal Oswal believes that the core business is largely reflected in current valuations. Continued investments in InstaHelp and limited visibility on the pace of profitability till FY31 keep the risk-reward balanced, it added.
Urban Company share price
Urban Company shares made a stellar debut in the market last August, listing with 58% premium over the IPO price at Rs 162.25 apiece. This came after the Rs 1,900 crore IPO was subscribed over 103 times overall, led by strong demand from Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs), who bid 147 times, while Non-Institutional Investors subscribed 77 times and retail investors 41 times..
The stock closed nearly 1% lower at Rs 129.39 apiece on Friday ahead of the results. The shares of the company have fallen more than 1% in one week and over 2% in a month. The stock is overall down around 2% in 2026 so far. It currently has a market capitalisation of more than Rs 19,894 crore.
Also read | InstaHelp prioritising market leadership despite margin pressure: Urban Company
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