Not so defensive

Self-reliance in the defense sector has been one of the major investment themes in the past three years. Besides dedicated public sector defense manufacturers, the stocks of many equipment and service providers to the Indian defense establishments have seen a sharp upmove. In the melee to own “defense stocks,” many investors have ignored the basic principles of investment and buying stocks of these companies at any price.

I had written a cautionary post about this many months ago (see here). The trend has only strengthened in the past six months. Stocks, even remotely associated with the defense sector, have seen hyperbolic moves. I feel the interest in the sector that was driven initially by optimism, may have crossed over the realm of exuberance.