Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down 35.04 points, or 0.36%, to 9,797.36.

On BSE, 310 shares were traded in the counter. The stock had an average daily volume of 76,710 shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 400 and a low of Rs 390.10 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 945 on 26 May 2008 and a 52-week low of Rs 294.65 on 2 December 2008.

The mid-cap stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 15 December 2008, gaining 10.41% as compared to the Sensex's return of 4.76%. It had underperformed the market in the past one quarter, declining 33.22% as compared to the Sensex's decline of 27.34%.

The company's current equity is Rs 144.68 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

The current price of Rs 400 discounts the company's Q2 September 2008 annualized EPS of Rs 51.12, by a PE multiple of 7.82.

The extended 10-day shut down planned this year may be due to lower off-take during the festival months, reports suggest. The block-closure at the Waluj plant will extend from 26 December 2008 to 4 January 2009.

Bajaj Auto's motorcycle sales fell 37% to 131,681 units in November 2008 over November 2007, while three-wheeler sales rose 13% to 27,326. Exports rose 46% to 67,397 units in November 2008 over November 2007.

Bajaj Auto had on 10 December 2008 cut two-wheelers prices by up to Rs 2100 and three-wheeler prices by up to Rs 4,400 followed by a 4% reduction in excise duty announced by the government on 7 December 2008.

Bajaj Auto's net profit fell 22.5% to Rs 184.91 crore on 9.2% increase in net sales to Rs 2450.73 crore on Q2 September 2008 over Q2 September 2007.

Bajaj Auto, is ranked as the world's fourth largest two- and three- wheeler manufacturer and the Bajaj brand is well-known in over a dozen countries in Europe, Latin America, the US and Asia.