Vabmellat, Mobarakeh Steel, Shepna and Ikco: Sahmino's 4-Stock Weekly Watchlist, From Vabmellat's P/E of 2.99 to Ikco's Losses (Saturday, August 22, 2026)

In the first edition of its "Weekly Watchlist" series, Sahmino is tracking four Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) names for the week ahead: Vabmellat (Bank Mellat), Mobarakeh Steel, Shepna (Isfahan Oil Refining) and Ikco (Iran Khodro). This is not a buy signal; the selection criterion is what each name's latest filed numbers and trading behavior actually show. All four closed higher on Saturday, August 22, 2026 (31 Mordad 1405), and three of them, Vabmellat, Mobarakeh Steel and Ikco, closed locked in buy queues (their order books held only unmatched buy orders at the daily price ceiling).

Backdrop

The rally happened inside an already hot market: Tehran's main index (TEDPIX) crossed 6 million points for the first time in its history that same day, closing at 6,061,547 points, and the equal-weight index rose for a 22nd consecutive session. In that environment, separating which move rests on a filed number from which rests on momentum alone is exactly what this watchlist is for.

Four Stocks, Four Numbers

Vabmellat (Bank Mellat)

Vabmellat closed Saturday up 2.03% at 1,357 rials, a fresh one-year high for the closing price. Behind that print, 880,190,341 shares sat in an unmatched buy queue at 1,369 rials. The key number sits in the audited annual financial statement for the twelve months to March 20, 2026 (29 Esfand 1404): on trailing-twelve-month EPS of 454 rials, Vabmellat's P/E is 2.99, against a 5.22 average for the banking and credit-institution sector, roughly 43% below the sector average. Twelve-month revenue was 312.7 trillion tomans, up 73.2% year on year, and the operating margin reached 59.3%. Its price-to-book ratio is just 0.82. Near-term driver: the stock's 20-day moving average (1,226.55 rials) crossed above its 50-day average (1,210.26 rials) on August 19, 2026. Risk to watch: over the last five sessions, retail investors were net sellers of Vabmellat by roughly 549 billion tomans even as the price hit a record; the stock's 30-day volatility, at 47.8%, also runs above the market average.

Mobarakeh Steel (Fold)

Mobarakeh Steel opened Saturday 2.97% above the prior close, its fifth straight higher close, and finished at 2,533 rials with a buy queue of 265,558,421 shares. Per its audited annual statement for the twelve months to March 20, 2026, trailing EPS is 518 rials and the P/E is 4.89, against a 10.58 average for the basic-metals sector, about 54% below its sector. But the second number is a caution flag: twelve-month revenue rose 27.9% to 366.9 trillion tomans, while net profit grew just 0.65% to 100.3 trillion tomans, meaning margins were essentially flat despite the sales jump. The balance sheet is healthy: a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.78. The rally's main driver has been retail money: over the last 20 sessions retail investors made up 79.4% of Mobarakeh Steel's traded value, with net retail buying of 4,178 billion tomans. Risk to watch: despite the run, the stock is still 24.9% below its one-year high of 3,370.84 rials, and both its three-month and year-to-date returns are negative (-0.63%); its margin is exposed to domestic and export steel prices and the exchange rate.

Shepna (Isfahan Oil Refining)

Shepna traded Saturday 2.27% above the prior close and finished at 11,480 rials, just 2.9% below its one-year high of 11,820 rials. Per its unaudited interim report for the three months to June 21, 2026 (31 Khordad 1405), trailing EPS is 1,816 rials and the P/E is 6.32, slightly above the 5.4 average for the refining sector, roughly 17% pricier than its sector. What justifies that premium is growth speed: twelve-month revenue rose 140.6% to 1,073 trillion tomans and net profit rose 170.4% to 113.9 trillion tomans; return on equity stands at 57%. The stock's one-year return has reached 372.9%. Risk to watch: over the last five sessions, retail investors were net sellers by roughly 335 billion tomans, meaning some retail holders sold into strength near the high; the quarterly report behind these figures is still unaudited, and crack spreads, the exchange rate and global oil prices are the key variables for Shepna's profitability ahead.

Ikco (Iran Khodro)

Ikco opened Saturday 2.54% above the prior close, its fifth straight higher close, finished at 647 rials with a buy queue of 1,025,682,818 shares, and reached its highest closing price since December 28, 2025 (7 Dey 1404). But this name's key number in the watchlist is not a positive one: per its unaudited interim report for the three months to June 21, 2026, trailing twelve-month EPS is a loss of 49 rials, and a negative P/E is not comparable to the sector. Twelve-month revenue rose 23.9% to 532.3 trillion tomans, but the gross margin is just 0.61%; the operating loss is 18.5 trillion tomans and the net loss is 12.6 trillion tomans, 135.5% worse than the year-earlier period. The current ratio is just 0.43; current liabilities (319.3 trillion tomans) run nearly 2.3 times current assets (136.4 trillion tomans). In Sahmino's Codal archive, no capital increase or approved balance-sheet restructuring is on record for Ikco over the past 12 months; the only related filing is an "Extraordinary General Assembly Decisions" letter published on Codal on July 22, 2026 (31 Tir 1405), whose decision table has not yet been parsed. Ikco trades on the exchange's secondary board, not the main board. Risk to watch: the price rally is not matched by fundamental improvement; the operating loss and the low current ratio are the variables to track in the coming weeks.

Drivers

Behind all four Saturday rallies sits one shared driver and several stock-specific ones. The shared driver is the broader bull run in Tehran equities: the main index is breaking historical levels and money is rotating into large-cap names. Vabmellat's and Mobarakeh Steel's specific driver is being cheap relative to their own sector average (P/E of 2.99 and 4.89) alongside seasonal profitability; Shepna's driver is a jump in revenue and profit tied to the crack spread and the exchange rate; and Ikco's driver is price momentum and the buy queue alone, with no profit support in its financial statement.

Outlook

This section is analytical, not a buy or sell recommendation. If the index's uptrend continues, Vabmellat and Mobarakeh Steel have more room to close their valuation gap given the distance between their P/E and their sector average; Shepna needs to repeat its seasonal profitability in coming reports to sustain its rally; and Ikco's rise remains a momentum trade for as long as the operating loss and balance-sheet liquidity strain persist, one that could reverse the moment its buy queue breaks.

Bottom Line

All four names in this watchlist rose on Saturday, August 22, 2026, but behind that shared move are two very different stories: Vabmellat and Mobarakeh Steel are profitable and cheaper than their sector; Shepna is profitable and fast-growing but pricier than its sector; and Ikco is loss-making, and its rally needs to be read as momentum, not as a profit story. The number worth remembering: a single day's buy queue is not a substitute for reading the financial statement.

What to Watch

• Vabmellat: whether retail net selling near the price high continues or stops, and its summer-quarter profit reports.
• Mobarakeh Steel: domestic and export steel sale prices, and how the exchange rate feeds into next quarter's margin.
• Shepna: the global crack spread, the exchange rate, and the release of the audited version of its quarterly report.
• Ikco: the outcome of its July 22, 2026 extraordinary assembly filing on Codal, the operating-loss trend, and any news on vehicle pricing or balance-sheet restructuring.

Sources for this report's figures: the audited annual financial statements and unaudited quarterly interim reports each company filed on Codal, which Sahmino reads and processes directly from Codal; and Tehran Stock Exchange board and price-history data that Sahmino records directly. Each figure is dated in the text where it appears.