CESC hits 52-week high as RPSG stocks jump 10%

Rally centred on RPSG Group names

Shares of Sanjiv Goenka-led RPSG Group companies jumped up to 10% during Monday’s trading session, as market participants tracked West Bengal Assembly Election trend updates. The move was seen across multiple listed entities from the group, including CESC, RPSG Ventures, Firstsource Solutions and PCBL. The trigger cited was the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) eyeing a historic win in West Bengal, crossing the 190-mark in trends and potentially forming the government in the state for the first time.

The rally mattered for investors because several of these stocks are closely associated with West Bengal-based operations and legacy franchises. For CESC in particular, the day’s move pushed the stock to a fresh 52-week high. At the group level, the action also coincided with a busy results calendar for some companies.

CESC leads the pack with a fresh 52-week high

CESC was the top gainer among the names mentioned, surging as much as 9.05% to ₹204.50, which also marked a new 52-week high. At that level, CESC commanded a market capitalisation close to ₹26,000 crore. The stock’s 52-week range, as shown in the trading snapshot provided, stood at ₹138.12 to ₹204.50.

The utilities player has yet to announce its results for the March 2026 quarter. Ahead of the print, the stock’s sharp move highlighted how quickly sentiment can shift when macro and political cues dominate the session.

Broker views and target prices: buy calls dominate

Brokerage commentary referenced in the data remained largely constructive, though not uniform. Elara Capital has a ‘buy’ rating on CESC with a target price of ₹228. Mirae Asset Sharekhan maintained a ‘buy’ stance with a target price of ₹195.

ICICI Securities was cited in multiple contexts. One reference showed ICICI Securities with a target price of ₹204. Another reference showed ICICI Securities with a target price of ₹198. Separately, the text also stated ICICI Securities downgraded the stock to ‘reduce’ with a target price of ₹270 post muted earnings.

Antique Stock Broking maintained a ‘buy’ rating with a sum-of-the-parts (SoTP) based target price of ₹203, while Emkay Global reiterated its ‘buy’ rating with a target price of ₹225.

March 2026 quarter expectations highlighted by Sharekhan

Ahead of CESC’s March 2026 quarter results, Mirae Asset Sharekhan expectations were cited in the provided content. The brokerage expected sales of around ₹4,684 crore for the quarter, up 16.6% year-on-year and 12.4% quarter-on-quarter. Operating margins were expected at 23.9%.

Net profit for the March 2026 quarter was seen at ₹400 crore, up 3.9% year-on-year and 248% quarter-on-quarter. These numbers were presented as estimates and not as reported results.

Separately, the snapshot also referenced CESC standalone December 2025 net sales at ₹2,024 crore, up 4.44% year-on-year.

Uttar Pradesh DISCOM bids emerge as a key talking point

One catalyst cited in the content was CESC’s stated focus on winning DISCOM bids. The note referenced Uttar Pradesh plans to privatise its DISCOMs due to aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses of over 30%. The DISCOMs were described as having 1.75 crore customers with consumption of around 65 BU.

ICICI Securities was quoted as saying five major bids in Uttar Pradesh are expected in the medium term, while reiterating a “retain buy” view and a target of ₹204 in that context. Antique Stock Broking also flagged potential catalysts as wins in upcoming UP DISCOM tenders and securing power purchase agreements (PPAs) for renewable assets.

Other RPSG counters also move sharply

Beyond CESC, the session saw strong moves across other group companies mentioned in the text. Firstsource Solutions jumped more than 2% on Monday and was set to announce Q4 results later in the week on May 06. BoB Capital Market had a ‘buy’ rating on Firstsource Solutions with a target price of ₹429, while Anand Rathi Share & Stock Brokers also had a ‘buy’ rating with a target price of ₹415.

Spencer’s Retail shares climbed nearly 10% to ₹38, while RPSG Ventures surged 7.9% to ₹914.40. The market capitalisation of RPSG Ventures was cited as hitting ₹3,000 crore.

Trading snapshot: day range, volume and market depth

The trading snapshot provided for CESC showed an intraday day range of ₹182.00 to ₹189.10, with volume at 5,199,531 shares. The BSE market depth (06 May 2026) showed buy orders clustered around ₹184.15 to ₹184.40 and sell orders around ₹185.00 to ₹185.90.

Market impact: what investors tracked during the move

The move underscored how political and state-level narratives can influence stocks with strong regional linkages, at least in the short term. For CESC, the rally came before the March 2026 quarter results, meaning price action was driven more by sentiment and positioning than by fresh reported numbers.

Broker targets and rating labels in the text ranged from “buy” to “reduce”, showing that investors were working with a wide set of reference points even as the stock hit a new high. For Firstsource Solutions, the imminent result date of May 06 added an event-driven angle to trading.

Why this episode matters

For CESC, the combination of a pre-results rally, multiple broker targets, and discussion around potential DISCOM opportunities in Uttar Pradesh shaped the narrative. The Uttar Pradesh privatisation theme was tied to measurable system issues cited in the text, such as AT&C losses above 30% and a large customer base of 1.75 crore.

At the group level, the session showed how a single macro headline can lift a basket of related stocks at once. But the next set of cues will likely come from scheduled earnings announcements and any company updates on bidding activity, where applicable.

Summary and next triggers

RPSG Group stocks rallied up to 10% during the session as West Bengal election trends dominated headlines, with CESC leading and touching ₹204.50, a fresh 52-week high. Investors will now watch CESC’s March 2026 quarter results, while Firstsource Solutions was scheduled to report Q4 results later in the week on May 06. Any additional clarity on DISCOM bidding opportunities, including the Uttar Pradesh tenders referenced, may remain an important monitorable alongside earnings.