Ramesh Damani-owned Protean tanks 20%. Here's what went wrong

Shares of Protean eGov Technologies crashed 20% to hit the lower circuit limit of Rs 1,143 on BSE after the company was not selected by the Income Tax Department (ITD) for its technology revamp project. The project includes the design, development, implementation, operations, and maintenance of PAN systems.

“We were informed by the Income Tax Department (ITD) that we have not been considered favourably for the next round of the RFP selection process,” Protean said in a regulatory filing on Sunday.

The company noted that the project pertains to a technology revamp of PAN systems at the Income Tax Department. “It appears to have limited or minimal impact on our ongoing PAN processing and issuance services under the existing mandate with the ITD,” it added.

Protean had participated in the bid for the selection of a Managed Service Provider (MSP) for the PAN 2.0 Project.

Following the decline, the stock has erased all gains made over the past year and is now down over 4% in the last 12 months. Ace investor Ramesh Damani held a 1.05% stake in the company as of the March quarter.

Institutional shareholders include Canara Bank (1.23%), Bank of Baroda (1.54%), Punjab National Bank (2.25%), Axis Bank (3.18%), and State Bank of India (4.93%).

According to Trendlyne data, the stock has four 'buy' recommendations, with an average target price of Rs 2,104 — implying an upside potential of 47%.