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Amid concerns over sluggish vehicle demand even in the ongoing festive season, auto stocks succumbed to selling pressure on Tuesday. Tata Motors led the downside with 6% drop.Nifty Auto index was trading over 2% lower. Shares of Bajaj Auto and Hero Moto fell around 3% each while Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra were trading around 2% lower.Analysts said the auto index could drop at least 10-15% from the current levels."Post-Covid, auto shares have experienced a bull run, and despite some adjustments over the past six months, valuations remain stretched. If earnings growth doesn't hold up, corrections of around 10-15% are likely, as share prices have already surged over the last three years," said Krishna Appala, senior research analyst, Capitalmind Research.Also read | Diwali sale or trap? 12 stocks crash at least 40% after giving multibagger returnsIn a weak consumer environment, analysts see the risk of more earnings downgrades rather than upgrades for the next couple of quarters.“Partly our view has been that demand will not be as strong, which is unfortunately, that is what has happened and you are also seeing disruption from the EV players as far as the two-wheeler segment is concerned. As far as four-wheelers are concerned, it is more a valuation concern we have wherein we will still see single-digit volume growth. We are not expecting too much," said Pratik Gupta of Kotak Institutional Equities.The brokerage firm is cautious on most auto stocks but likes M&M where, he said, the valuation is still reasonable.The mega Hyundai IPO might have signalled a top for auto shares, reflecting in the stock making a weak debut on the bourses on October 22. The stock is currently 10% below its issue price."The Hyundai IPO earlier this month marked the peak of valuations in the sector, with Hyundai trading at 27 times price to earnings (PE) ratio, while market leader Maruti Suzuki is trading at 24 times PE," Appala said.

The initial public offering (IPO) of Afcons Infrastructure, a Shapoorji Pallonji company, was fully subscribed on the last day of the bidding process, following a moderate response in the first two days.Around 12:50 p.m., the issue received bids for 9,52,55,392 shares, or 1.10 times against the total issue size of 8,66,19,950 shares. The retail portion was subscribed at 52%, while the qualified institutional buyer's portion was booked 1.11 times. The allocation for non-institutional investors (NII) was subscribed by 2.42 times.According to market analysts, the current GMP of Afcons Infrastructure is Rs 30 (6.5%) in the unlisted market.The issue, which closes on October 29, is a combination of a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 1,250 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of up to Rs 4,180 crore by promoter Goswami Infratech.The company will utilise Rs 80 crore from the fresh issue proceeds to buy construction equipment, Rs 320 crore for long-term working capital, Rs 600 crore to repay debt, and the rest for general corporate purposes.Afcons Infrastructure IPO price bandThe company has fixed a price band of Rs 440-463 per share, where investors can bid for 32 shares in one lot.Afcons Infrastructure IPO GMPAccording to market analysts, the current GMP of Afcons Infrastructure is Rs 30, indicating a premium of 6.5% to the issue.Afcons Infrastructure IPO reviewAnalysts advised investors to subscribe to the issue for the long term as the company boasts of a strong, diversified business model with a solid order book and consistent financial performance in the infrastructure sector."Key strengths include strategic equipment investments, but challenges such as low PAT margins and reliance on government capex exist. While management focuses on long-term asset utilization, backed by Shapoorji Pallonji, investors should be aware of risks related to capex dependency and profit margins. We recommend subscribing to this issue for long-term gains," said Canara Bank Securities."Accomplished numerous renowned infrastructure projects. Strong order book supports future growth. Stable financial performance over the years. IPO is reasonably priced. Long-term prospects look promising, but listing performance may be impacted by current market conditions," said Swastika Investmart.Also read: Bharti Airtel falls 3% despite strong Q2 results. What's D-Street looking for?Other detailsAfcons Infrastructure has a proven track record of successfully delivering a wide range of complex and challenging engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) projects both domestically and internationally. According to the Fitch Report, Afcons is recognized as one of India’s leading international infrastructure firms, as per the 2023 rankings by Engineering News-Record (ENR) based on international revenue for the financial year 2023.The company operates across five major infrastructure business verticals including marine and industrial, surface transport, urban infrastructure, hydro and underground, and oil and gas.Founded in 1865, Shapoorji Pallonji Group (SP Group) is a diversified group and has a leading presence in engineering & construction, infrastructure, real estate, water, energy and financial services sectors across the globe.In terms of listed industry peers, Afcons compares itself with Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T), KEC International Limited (KEC), Kalpataru Project International Ltd (KPIL), and Dilip Buildcon Ltd( DBL).For the year ending March 2024, the company's revenue from operations fell marginally to Rs 3154 crore and the profit after tax rose to Rs 91.6 crore from Rs 90.9 crore a year ago.ICICI Securities, DAM Capital Advisors, Jefferies India, Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities (India), Nuvama Wealth Management, and SBI Capital Markets are the book-running lead managers to the issue.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)