Vanta Bioscience Limited

Healthcare — Diagnostics & Research · BSE

₹20.40−₹0.02 (−0.10%)

DalalBaazaar Score

41 / 100

🟡 Moderate

Verdict

CAUTION

Risk

Very High

Driven by high debt relative to equity, negative free cash flow, micro-cap size, which brings thin liquidity.

In simple words: The business is earning a fairly low return on the money invested in it, with both sales and profits growing well. Debt is the main factor to watch.

Decision support, not a buy or sell call.

As of 18 Oct 2026, 6:10 pm

Caution warranted. Multiple fundamental metrics — flagged in red below — point to either valuation stretch, leverage risk, or weakening profitability. This doesn't mean avoid the stock outright, but it does mean the burden of proof is on the growth story to justify the current price.

Understanding the Business

Company site ↗

The 60-second version of Vanta Bioscience Limited — what it does, how it earns, and who it competes with, before any of the numbers below.

What does this company do?

Vanta Bioscience Limited, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a preclinical contract research organization in India.

IndustryDiagnostics & Research

SectorHealthcare

Employees38

Annual revenue₹2 Cr

How does it make money?

Turns over ₹2 Cr a year. Of every ₹100 of sales, about ₹6 reaches shareholders as profit, with ₹111 left at the operating level before interest, tax and depreciation. Each of its 38 employees supports ₹4.8 lakh of revenue a year, the signature of a people-led business.

EBITDA margin111.3%

Net margin6.0%

Revenue / employee₹4.8 lakh

Who are its competitors?

The closest listed comparisons in its industry are SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND L, CIPLA LTD, DR. REDDY S LABORATORIES, APOLLO HOSPITALS ENTER. L. These are the companies its valuation and returns are measured against elsewhere in this report.

SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND LP/E 34.9x · ROE 14.5%

CIPLA LTDP/E 31.8x · ROE 9.8%

DR. REDDY S LABORATORIESP/E 31.0x · ROE 8.8%

APOLLO HOSPITALS ENTER. LP/E 54.3x · ROE 22.0%

What is its competitive advantage?Little sign of one

Returns on capital of 1.5% are at or below what the capital likely costs. That is the financial pattern of a business competing largely on price, where advantage has to come from execution rather than position.

ROCE1.5%

ROE0.6%

Peer median ROE14.5%

What has been driving growth?

Sales and margins have both contributed to where profit is now. Over 3 years revenue moved -71% while net margin moved -106% relative to itself. What this cannot tell you is which products, customers or geographies did the work — that lives in the segment disclosures of the annual report.

Revenue effect-71%

Margin effect-106%

DalalBaazaar Score

41/ 100

Moderate

Weighted across six categories. Every point is explained below.

✗ Revenue has contracted at 33.9% a year

Quality vs. Valuation

Company Quality

40/ 100

Weak

How good the business is, ignoring the share price entirely.

Valuation

32/ 100

Expensive

What you are being asked to pay, ignoring how good the business is.

Weak on business quality and not cheap enough to compensate.

Historical Valuation

Current P/E

136.0x

Sector Median

33.3x

median of 4 sector peers

⚠️Against its sector it trades 308% above the peer median of 33.3x.

vs. its own history

Not enough price and earnings history

vs. sector peers

Expensive

33.3x median of 4 peers · +308%

vs. generic bands

Expensive

Above 35x

P/E (Trailing)

136.0x

P/B

0.69x

EV/EBITDA

26.0x

PEG

—

Dividend Yield

None

What's Good / What's Bad

🟢 What's Going Well4

Margins are improving
EBITDA margin is up from -2.6% to 111.3% over 3 years.
Debt is being paid down
Total debt is down 33% over 3 years.
Return on equity is rising
ROE has improved from -37.0% to 0.5%.
Return on capital is rising
ROCE has improved from -7.0% to 1.5%.

🔴 What Needs Attention2

Free cash flow is negative
The business is not currently covering its capital spending from operations.
Receivables growing faster than sales
Receivables are up 31% against revenue growth of -71% — customers are taking longer to pay.

Red Flags

5 items require attention · 5 high

🔴High leverageFinancial
Debt/Equity of 1.80x — earnings must service borrowings before shareholders see anything.
🔴Thin interest coverageFinancial
Operating profit covers interest only 1.0x — little room if earnings dip.
🔴Free cash flow negative for 4 yearsFinancial
The business has not covered its capital spending from operations for several years running, which has to be funded externally.
🔴Profit up while operating cash flow fallsFinancial
Reported profit rose but cash generated by operations declined — worth checking whether earnings are being supported by non-cash items or working capital.
🔴Receivables growing faster than salesFinancial
Receivables up 31% against revenue up -71% — sales are being booked faster than they are collected.

Investment Thesis

🟢 Bull CaseWhat could make this work?

Margin expansion has further to run
EBITDA margin has risen from -2.6% to 111.3%. If that holds, profit compounds faster than sales and today's multiple looks cheaper in hindsight than it does now.
Deleveraging frees up earnings
Debt is down 33% over 3 years. Every rupee of interest not paid drops to the bottom line, so profit can grow even if revenue does not.

🔴 Bear CaseWhat could go wrong?

The debt load needs earnings to hold up
Debt is 18.8x EBITDA. At that level a downturn in earnings turns a manageable balance sheet into a refinancing problem, and lenders get paid before shareholders.
Sales are being booked faster than collected
Receivables are up 31% against revenue up -71%. If customers keep taking longer to pay, reported profit will not turn into cash — and write-offs follow if some never do.
A premium to the sector to defend
It trades 308% above the peer median. That premium needs a reason that persists, or it closes.
Earnings are hard to forecast
Profit has swung sharply from year to year, so any single year — good or bad — is a weak guide to the next. Cyclical earnings deserve lower multiples for that reason.
Size brings its own risk
Micro Cap businesses are thinly traded, so exits are harder in a falling market and single events move the price more than they would for a larger company.

🟡 Key Things to WatchMeasurable tripwires, set against where this company stands today

1EBITDA margin holds above 109%✓ 111.3%
Two points below today's level — enough room for noise, tight enough to catch real compression.
2Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x✗ 18.8x
Already stretched, so this is a reduction target rather than a level to hold. Around 3x is where lenders typically start attaching conditions.
3Free cash flow remains positive✗ -₹12 Cr
Profit that never becomes cash eventually stops being profit.
4Interest cover stays above 3x✗ 1.0x
How much operating profit can fall before interest stops being comfortably covered.
5ROCE stays above 8%✗ 1.5%
Falling returns on capital are usually competition arriving, and show up here before they reach the margin.

Investment Checklist

5 / 11 checks passed

✗ Strong return on equity (ROE ≥ 15%)
✗ Strong return on capital employed (ROCE ≥ 15%)
✗ Healthy net margin (≥ 10%)
✗ Generates positive free cash flow
✗ Manageable leverage (Debt/Equity < 1.0)
✓ Adequate short-term liquidity (Current Ratio ≥ 1.0)
✓ Revenue growing year-over-year
✓ Profit growing year-over-year
✗ Not trading at an extreme valuation (P/E < 40x)
✓ Not buying right at the 52-week high
✓ Short-term technical trend isn't bearish

Price history

Quick Metrics

4 good · 2 neutral · 5 weak

Market Cap

₹15 Cr

Micro Cap

Smaller company — thin liquidity and deep drawdowns are normal here

P/E (Trailing)

136.0x

Expensive

Expensive — verify against sector peers

P/B Ratio

0.69x

Reasonable

Reasonable against the company's book value

EPS (TTM)

₹0.15

Profitable

Profitable on a per-share basis

ROE

0.6%

Weak

Weak capital efficiency

ROCE

1.5%

Weak

Low return on total capital employed

Debt/Equity

1.80x

High

High leverage

Revenue Growth (YoY)

1462.7%

Healthy

Healthy top-line growth

Profit Growth (YoY)

104.1%

Healthy

Profits growing at a healthy clip

Dividend Yield

None

No dividend yield reported — usually means no payout, but verify if one was recently initiated

Free Cash Flow

-₹13 Cr

Cash burning

Spending more cash than the operations bring in

More Metrics

CMP

₹20.4

ROA

0.6%

Weak

Assets generate little profit

Operating Margin

106.6%

Good

Healthy core-business profitability

Net Margin

6.0%

Average

Average bottom-line conversion

Current Ratio

1.20

Adequate

Adequate, but no real cushion

Beta (vs Nifty)

0.98

Market-like

Moves roughly in line with the market

52W Range Position

40%

Mid-range

Technical Snapshot

SMA 20 / SMA 50

20.6 / 20.3

Bullish alignment (short > long)

Price vs SMA 200

Below

Long-term downtrend

RSI (14)

58.0

Neutral momentum

Financial Trend (4-Year)

Metric	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26	3Y CAGR
Revenue	₹6 Cr	₹10 Cr	₹1 Cr	₹2 Cr	-33.9%
EBITDA	-₹0 Cr	₹1 Cr	-₹1 Cr	₹2 Cr	—
EBITDA Margin	-2.6%	13.9%	-74.3%	111.3%	—
PAT (Net Profit)	-₹6 Cr	-₹2 Cr	-₹3 Cr	₹0 Cr	—
EPS	₹-10.27	₹-3.67	₹-4.23	—	—
ROE	-37.0%	-15.2%	-25.6%	0.5%	—
ROCE	-7.0%	-5.0%	-3.5%	1.5%	—
Total Debt	₹57 Cr	₹61 Cr	₹70 Cr	₹38 Cr	-12.7%
Free Cash Flow	-₹29 Cr	-₹1 Cr	-₹4 Cr	-₹12 Cr	—

🔴 Revenue has shrunk at 33.9% a year over 3 years.

🟢 EBITDA has turned positive, from -₹0 Cr to ₹2 Cr.

🟢 EBITDA Margin has risen from -2.6% to 111.3% over 3 years (+113.8 pts).

🟢 PAT (Net Profit) has turned positive, from -₹6 Cr to ₹0 Cr.

🟢 ROE has risen from -37.0% to 0.5% over 3 years (+37.5 pts).

🟢 ROCE has risen from -7.0% to 1.5% over 3 years (+8.4 pts).

🟢 Total Debt has shrunk at 12.7% a year over 3 years.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow — FY2026

Total Assets

₹66 Cr

Total Liabilities

₹45 Cr

Total Debt

₹38 Cr

Cash & Equivalents

₹0 Cr

Operating Cash Flow

-₹5 Cr

Capex

-₹7 Cr

Shareholding (proxy)

Institutional Holding

0.0%

Insider Holding

72.8%

Peer Comparison

Company	P/E	ROE
SUN PHARMACEUTICAL IND L	34.9x	14.5%
CIPLA LTD	31.8x	9.8%
DR. REDDY S LABORATORIES	31.0x	8.8%
APOLLO HOSPITALS ENTER. L	54.3x	22.0%

Recent News

1 positive1 mixed4 general

HESTER BIOSCIENCES Stock/Share price , NSE/BSE Forecast News and Live Quotes

Equitymaster, 17 Oct

Vanta Bioscience turns profitable in FY26 with revenue up ~61%

scanx.trade, 23 SeptResults

🟢Potentially positiveReported improvement. Check whether it came from volume, price or a one-off item before treating it as a trend.

FERMENTA Stock Price and Chart — NSE:FERMENTA

TradingView, 20 Apr

Vanta Bioscience Limited Share Price

Upstox, 11 Apr

HALEOSLABS Stock Price and Chart — NSE:HALEOSLABS

TradingView, 26 Nov

Sequoia Capital-backed Vanta raises funding at $2.45 bln valuation

Reuters, 24 JulFunding

🟡Mixed / dependsNew funding changes the capital structure. Debt raises leverage; an equity raise dilutes existing holders.

Watch Items

Cross-check against the company's latest quarterly filing / investor presentation before acting.

DalalBaazaar Thesis

🟡Business QualityAdequate11.5/20

🔴Financial HealthStretched8/20

🔴GrowthWeak2.4/20

🟡ProfitabilityModerate8.3/15

🟡ValuationFair7.7/15

🔴RiskHigh3.3/10

Weak on the fundamentals

Poor scores on business quality without a price low enough to compensate. There is no obvious argument for owning this over a stronger company at a similar valuation. 5 high-severity red flags sit above this conclusion and should be read first.

This thesis breaks if

✓EBITDA margin holds above 109%111.3%
✗Debt / EBITDA falls below 3x18.8x
✗Free cash flow remains positive-₹12 Cr
✗Interest cover stays above 3x1.0x
✗ROCE stays above 8%1.5%