21/05/2026
KPUS: A 1,658% Rise With No Earnings — Who Is Really Behind This?
By Zeshan Haider | PSX Retail Investor | May 21, 2026
I am not an analyst sitting in a glass tower. I am a practicing lawyer from Gujranwala, and a retail investor who watches the Pakistan Stock Exchange with the same hope that millions of ordinary Pakistanis do — the hope that our savings can grow, that the market is fair, and that someone is watching over us. Today, I am writing this because I believe that hope is being betrayed. The name before us is KPUS — Khairpur Sugar Mills Limited — and what is happening to this stock deserves urgent public attention.
THE NUMBERS THAT SHOULD ALARM YOU:
• Current price (May 21, 2026): Rs. 2,108.92
• Price one year ago: Rs. 115.11
• Price increase in 12 months: +1,658%
• Free float: only 800,875 shares — just 5% of total shares
• 95% of shares held by promoters/insiders
• EPS (2025): Rs. 3.84
• P/E Ratio: 243x — deeply irrational
• Dividends paid: ZERO
• PSX "Unusual Movement" notices: Multiple, including May 20, 2026
• Today's trading volume: Only 331 shares
A STOCK THAT EARNS RS. 3.84 — TRADING AT RS. 2,108?
Let us be honest with each other. Khairpur Sugar Mills earned Rs. 3.84 per share in its last full financial year. At today's price of Rs. 2,108, the market is valuing this company at 243 times its annual earnings. In the entire history of the Pakistan Stock Exchange, I cannot recall a sugar company — a commodity business with no technological edge, no monopoly, no unique product — trading at such a valuation. A P/E of 15 to 20 is considered normal for this sector. At 243, we are not in the territory of optimism. We are in the territory of manipulation.
THE FREE FLOAT TRAP:
When 95% of a company's shares are locked with insiders and only 800,000 shares are available to the public — the price of those shares can be moved by a handful of players with frightening ease.
KPUS has a 5% free float. Only 800,875 shares are available to ordinary investors. If you wanted to push the price of a stock with only 800,000 shares in circulation, how much money would you actually need? Not very much. A coordinated group of buyers can drive the price to the sky. And when they exit? The retail investor is left holding shares worth a fraction of what they paid.
PSX ITSELF IS SUSPICIOUS — AND IT SAID SO:
The Pakistan Stock Exchange has issued multiple "Unusual Movement in Price and Volume" notices on KPUS — including one just on May 20, 2026. When the exchange that lists a stock is publicly questioning its abnormal price behaviour, that is not a minor footnote. That is a fire alarm. What happened after those notices? Was any investigation opened? The public deserves answers.
MY DIRECT WARNING TO RETAIL INVESTORS:
If you are holding KPUS or considering buying it — please stop and think. A stock that pays no dividend, earns Rs. 3.84 per share, and trades at Rs. 2,108 is priced entirely on speculation. The moment the buyers who drove this price up decide to sell, the fall can be as violent as the rise. There have been days when fewer than 400 shares changed hands. This is not a liquid market. This is a trap with no exit.
MY DEMAND TO SECP AND PSX:
I am formally calling on SECP and PSX to:
1. Conduct a full audit of all trading accounts that bought/sold KPUS in the last 12 months
2. Examine whether any coordinated buying scheme was in operation
3. Investigate whether Securities Act 2015 market manipulation provisions were violated
4. Publish findings transparently
The SECP has the legal power and institutional mandate to do this. What is missing is the will.
THE LARGER DISEASE — AND THE CURE:
KPUS may be today's example, but it is not unique. The pattern of low free float stocks being pumped to irrational prices is a recurring disease on our exchange. Ordinary investors see a stock rising 1,000% and assume it reflects something real. They buy in. They lose. The cure is simple: enforce the laws we already have, make manipulators face real consequences, and protect the small investor.
I am one voice. But I believe there are thousands of investors across Pakistan who feel the same fear and frustration. I am writing what they are thinking.
— Zeshan Haider Advocate
PSX Retail Investor | Gujranwala, Pakistan
May 21, 2026
