Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 73.41 points, or 0.45%, to 16,231.69.
On BSE, 5.19 lakh shares were traded in the counter as against an average daily volume of 11.51 lakh shares in the past one quarter.
The stock hit a high of Rs 52.50 and a low of Rs 51.05 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 53.65 on 6 November 2009 and a 52-week low of Rs 12.45 on 12 December 2008.
The stock has risen 22.25% in eight trading sessions from a recent low of Rs 42.25 on 27 October 2009.
The mid-cap stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 6 November 2009, rising 27.84% as compared to the Sensex's 4.72% fall. It had also outperformed the market in the past one quarter, gaining 51.70% as compared to the Sensex's return of 4.15%.
The company's equity capital is Rs 133.03 crore. Face value per share is Rs 1.
The current price of Rs 51.65 discounts the company's Q2 September 2009 annualized EPS of Rs 2.66, by a PE multiple of 19.42.
The sales would shoot up on the back of large scale pre-purchases taking place before the new emission (Bharat Stage IV emission) norms coming into force.
After the Bharat Stage IV emission norms come into force from 1 April 2010, all new vehicles manufacturers are expected to raise prices because of the higher cost of development of new and more efficient diesel engines.
Ashok Leyland's commercial vehicle sales jumped 56.99% to 5,333 units in October 2009 over October 2008. During the same period, the company's domestic sales spurted 66% at 4,934 units, but exports fell 5.22% to 399 units.
Ashok Leyland's net profit rose 31.8% to Rs 88.61 crore on a 15.7% decline in sales to Rs 1577.68 crore in Q2 September 2009 over Q2 September 2008.
As per recent reports, Ashok Leyland is in talks with Group Plaza of Argentina to set up a joint venture for producing buses and trucks in Argentina. Group Plaza is a large public transportation company with a strong presence in Argentina. It has four companies operating long distance buses and 20 intra-city bus services. It also operates train services.
Ashok Leyland manufactures commercial vehicles and spare parts. The company also manufactures special vehicles and engines for industrial, genset, marine requirements and automobile spare parts. The company operates only in India.
Promoters have pledged more than 7.24 crore shares representing 5.45% of the equity capital of the company. Total promoters shareholding in the company is 38.61% (as on 30 September 2009).