IN THE FAST LANE Tata Motors Races Past GM, Ford in 2013 M-cap Growth Strong JLR September show gives co’s m-cap a 11.95% boost this year

Tata Motors shares rose to an all-timehigh on Friday boosted by Jaguar-Land Rover's (JLR) strong September numbers, though the performance in the key US market was muted. The shares touched an all-time high of . 346.7, before ending the day at . 349.8, the stock's highest close since listing. The firm's shares have had one of their best years so far with market cap rising 11.95%, ahead of Ford Motor's 4% growth, GM's 6.46% rise and Honda's 1.13% increase. Only Daimler AG's shares have risen by a bigger percentage of 16.67%. 

JLR's US sales posted a moderate 1.3% rise in September 2013 over the past year, but in the UK it increased by 11% for Land Rover and 7% for Jaguar. The US and the UK contribute about 17% each to JLR's sales. Global auto companies are struggling to cope with a slowdown in key markets and issues relating to cost. Tata Motors is probably the smallest of the global giants as Volkswagen ($104.3 billion), Daimler ($84.24 billion), Ford ($66.78 billion) have bigger market caps. 
A Morgan Stanley report released earlier this week highlighted that slowdown in the US sales was partly due to slow ramp up of new Range Rover Sport and thatthe strong sales numbers expected from the UK market will make up for the weakness in the US market. With UK numbers meeting analyst expectations, all eyes are set on the sales numbers from China, which is one of the largest markets for JLR, contributing to over 21% of the company's total sales volumes. 
"We expect JLR to report better sales numbers from China in the September 2013 quarter as compared with the quarter to June '13," says Ajay Shethiya, equity analyst with Centrum Broking. "The traction in JLR is likely to continue that makes Tata Motors a fundamentally good stock," he adds. 
Though revenue growth is expected to be strong for JLR in the September '13 quarter, margins could be under pressure due to unfavourable currency movements, analysts say. Most analysts have a positive view on Tata Motors stock and see further upside. According to Bloomberg, Tata Motors stock today enjoys almost 82% 'Buy' recommendations by analysts against 72% 'Buy' recommendations in the previous quarter. 
The stock trades at twelve-month trailing price to earning (P/E) multiple of 12.01, on par with global peers such as General Motors (12.9) and Ford Motors (10.4). 
bakul.chugan@timesgroup.com