New Delhi: After India became the first country to probe the moon's unexplored south pole following the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3, "Over the Moon" has become the subject of the new investing theme on Dalal Street. Stocks of companies participating in the ISRO lunar mission rose as much as 12% on Thursday, as investors found extra space for companies betting on India's cosmic power.

"This should strengthen the 'Made in India' theme and open up the global rocket, launch, and satellite markets for Indian players like L&T," said Bharat Parekh of CLSA.

Here’s a list of stocks in focus today after Chandrayaan-3’s success:

1. Godrej Industries: The company's arm, Godrej Aerospace, has supplied critical components to ISRO. Over the past three decades, the company has contributed to more than 175 engines for Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) launches. The parent company's stock surged yesterday by 7% and followed it up with another 3% rally today.
   
   
2. Paras Defense and Space Technologies: The company that specializes in space and defense optics, defense electronics, heavy engineering, etc. supplied the navigation system for Chandrayaan-3. After a 5% rally yesterday, the stock was up over 12% today.
   
   
3. MTAR Technologies: MTAR has been involved in the supply of equipment such as Vikas engines and cryogenic engine subsystems, including turbopumps and booster pumps. The company also supplied the PSLV-C25 engine used in the Mangalyaan mission. Shares of the company ended yesterday up 5% and skyrocketed another 8% today.
   
   
4. Hindustan Aeronautics Corporation (HAL): PSU company provided mechanical hardware for the lunar mission. After ending with a 3.6%, rally yesterday, the stock added another 1%.
   
   
5. Mishra Dhatu Nigam: Hyderabad-based metal manufacturer Mishra Dato' Nigam supplied critical materials such as cobalt-based alloys, nickel-based alloys, titanium alloys, and specialty steels for various launch vehicle components used in the lunar mission. After over 3% upside yesterday, the stock was up around 2% today.
   
   
6. BHEL: PSU Bharat Heavy Electricals supplied titanium tanks and batteries for Chandrayaan-3. BEHL shares rose 1%.
   
   
7. L&T: The aviation wing of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) supplied crucial components, conducted manufacturing and testing of booster segments, and integrated the Chandrayaan-3 launch vehicle. The heavyweight stock rose about 3% in two days.
   
   
8. Bharat Electronics: The company was said to be involved in the manufacture of the Chandrayaan-3 payloads. The stock was trading higher by 2% today.
   
   
9. Centum Electronics: The company, which provides design, development, and manufacturing of electronic systems for aerospace applications, rose 14% yesterday and topped it up with another 10% rally today.
   
   
10. Avantel: Hyderabad-based defense and aerospace company Avantel, which counts ISRO among its customers, was trading over 8% higher today.

What should investors do?

Despite the short-term gains, analysts say the overall long-term outlook for these counters remains bullish as Chandrayaan-3 opens up the global market for Indian companies.

"The global space market is worth USD 447 billion, and India has less than 5% share. Next, India should launch a mission for a solar observatory and put a man on the moon. Success would solidify India's right to win in the global market and its vendors such as L&T," CLSA said.

Analysts say that despite the recent run-up, some space stocks are still not that expensive. TCG AMC's Chakri Lokapriya went on to say that many of these Indian companies could now attract international attention even from Elon Musk.

“Bharat Electronics is expanding its product range and it is including a lot many technologically advanced components into its business. This makes this company and companies like MTAR and Hindustan Aeronautics very attractive not only to investors but also to businesses such as SpaceX.” He said.

Santosh Meena, Head of Research at Swastika Investmart, picked HAL, L&T, and MTAR as the preferred bets in the “Over the Moon” theme.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Business2Business)