While Nomura has upgraded shares of Vodafone Idea, Goldman Sachs still has a sell rating with a ₹2.5 price target.

Vodafone Idea’s big problem, even after its FPO and tariff hikes, is its highly stretched balance sheet, with liabilities of Rs 2.5 lakh crore, said brokerages.

The sharp 20 per cent correction in the stock price, more or less captures the value of the incremental liability, over and above what the Street was expecting, Nuvama said in a note.

Shares of Vodafone Idea have declined as much as 6% on Thursday after the Supreme Court upheld the Adjusted Gross Revenue ruling against the telecom companies and upheld the quantum of the AGR demand.

The court upheld the earlier decision, thereby reinforcing the obligation of telecom companies to pay their AGR dues.

Vodafone Idea (VIL) recently reported a massive adjusted gross revenue (AGR) liability of ₹70,300 crore, which includes accumulated interest. However, VIL’s self-assessed AGR liability is significantly lower, at ₹35,400 crore, a 50% reduction compared to the official figure.

Vodafone Idea shares have closed below their 200-Day Moving Average, something that the stock had not done since June this year.

Vodafone Idea shares plunged 20% after the Supreme Court rejected its plea to recalculate AGR dues. Analysts believe the company will need to raise funds to repay the dues. Competition and tariff hikes may further impact Vodafone Idea's survival.

The stock was last seen trading 12.01 per cent lower at Rs 11.36. At this price, it has declined 33.14 per cent on a year-to-date (YTD) basis.

Brokerage firm Citi, in a note on August 29 had said that any favourable AGR outcome would boost Vodafone Idea's share price by ₹4 to ₹5 per share or even higher, or more than 25% benefit on its current market price.

I think a fundraiser will certainly be needed for the company. To survive, they must increase earnings, and competition is already intensifying with the recent tariff hikes. If any one player faces an additional burden,