Mumbai: The Adani Group lost ₹2.24 lakh crore, or $26 billion, in market value on Thursday as shares tumbled in a sell-off after US prosecutors accused founder Gautam Adani, companies and executives of bribery and fraud.Ten out of the 11 Adani stocks fell 6% to 24% in Thursday's trading. Shares of the flagship company Adani Enterprises declined the most at 23.44%, and Adani Energy Solutions and Adani Wilmar plunged 20% and 10%, respectively.Adani Green Energy, the company that has been named by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), tumbled 19%.At Thursday's closing, Adani Group's market capitalisation stood at ₹12.06 lakh crore. This is the third-biggest single-day market-cap fall of the group on a percentage basis."Investors are concerned about the serious nature of charges by the US authorities as it has highlighted a corporate governance issue in the group," said Hemang Jani, founder-director at equity advisory firm Finazenn. "But a larger concern for investors is the continuous negative news flow around the group." Some analysts said investors are also concerned that the group might have to shell out big amounts to settle the charges by the US authorities.The fresh set of allegations came within two years of the release of a scathing report by US short-seller Hindenburg in January 2023, triggering a sharp drop in Adani stock prices over the next few months. The firm accused the conglomerate of engaging in 'brazen stock manipulation' and 'accounting fraud'.Within two weeks of the report's release, the group's market value dropped from ₹19.2 lakh crore to ₹6.7 lakh crore in early February. The group's market value has still recovered to its January 24 levels.115544977What's in store for stocks?Analysts are divided about the prospects of Adani shares."We would suggest retail investors to avoid Adani stocks unless the dust settles down," said Apurva Sheth, head of research at Samco Securities. "Only high-risk traders can take a chance on them as we wait for any more skeletons to come out of the closet."Even if the allegations get cleared, the stocks could trade in a narrow range, and may not make any fresh highs soon, said Sheth.Deven Choksey, founder and MD of DRChoksey FinServ said shares will rebound in the coming days and retail investors should remain invested in the stocks.“We see business as usual for the Adani Group, as the charges from the US DOJ will be defended by the company and promoters,” he said. “The group will have EBITDA (earnings before interest tax depreciation amortization) of Rs 85,000 crore and growth of 20% per year, against a debt of Rs 2,40,000 crore, which shows their ability to repay its debt.” Jani said if Adani Ports, Adani Power and Adani Energy Solutions fall by 10-15%, investors could consider buying them. A top retail brokerage research head, who did not wish to be named, said high-risk investors could invest not more than 5% of their stock portfolio in Adani stocks. The dip is a good opportunity to buy group companies with lesser debt and attractive valuations like Adani Ports and Ambuja Cements.