RIL catches analysts flat-footed,and Reliance Jio is to blame again

The Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) stock has risen as much as 76% from its lows in March. The company’s shares are now ahead of the average target price of 10 large brokerage firms. What’s more, while these brokerage firms had cut their target price for the RIL stock by about 10% in recent months, the stock has defied this sombre outlook and is now close to its all-time highs.

It’s not the first time that the RIL stock has caught the Street on the wrong foot. In 2017, soon after Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd started charging customers, the stock had risen by about 80% in about eight months. This was highly unusual for a stock that was practically flat for the preceding eight years.