Brokerage Views: Citi On Vodafone Idea, Bernstein On Muthoot Finance And More

Citi and Nuvama have divergent stock calls on beleaguered telecommunication company Vodafone Idea Ltd. after its first quarter results, whereas Muthoot Finance Ltd.'s earnings have been received positively by Bernstein and Jefferies. Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. has initiated coverage on recycling company Gravita India Ltd.

NDTV Profit tracks what brokerages are putting out on stocks and sectors. Here are all the top calls from analysts you need to know about on Wednesday.

Citi On Vodafone Idea

The brokerage maintained 'buy' on the company and set a target price of Rs 22, an upside 42% from the previous close.
The company's losses were stable and the miss was on account of flat average revenue per user.
The benefit of tariff hikes will be visible from the second quarter onwards.
The company is awaiting the AGR curative petition to be admitted for hearing in court.
The brokerage sees two positive triggers: favourable developments in the AGR case and completion of the ongoing debt raise.

Nuvama On Vodafone Idea

The brokerage maintained 'hold', with an unchanged target price of Rs 16.5 per share, an upside of 6% from the previous closing price.
The company's performance in the first quarter was modest, in line with expectations.
All eyes are now on the recent tariff hikes, expected to revive the sector.
The company is on its way to becoming a ‘going concern’, but is still not completely out of the woods.

Nomura On HDFC Bank

The brokerage maintained 'neutral' call, with a target price of Rs 1,720. This implies a 7% upside from the previous close.
The lender's improvement in net interest margin remains key return of assets (RoA) driver, but it is coming at the cost of loan growth.
Improvement in funding mix remains another driver in NIM.
Balance sheet course correction will be gradual.

Bernstein On Muthoot Finance

The brokerage maintained 'outperform' with a target price of Rs 2,000 per share, which implies an 8% upside from previous close.
Muthoot Finance reported a solid loan growth of 25% year-on-year and 11% sequentially.
Around 75% of FY25 loan growth guidance achieved.
The brokerage observes rise in credit costs is not a concern.
Low-loan-to-value will lead to low cash losses.

Also Read: Q1 Review: Muthoot Finance Posts Mixed Q1 Earnings

Jefferies On Muthoot Finance

The brokerage maintained 'buy' call with a target price of Rs 2,220, an upside of 17% from the previous close.
The beat in operating profit in the first quarter was offset by higher provisions.
Loan growth surprised positively aided by gold prices.
Net interest margins held up better than expected and asset quality risk is low.
The brokerage values standalone business at 2.5 times the September 2026 book value.

Motilal Oswal On Gravita India

The brokerage initiated coverage on the stock with a 'buy' call and a target price of Rs 2,350 per share. This implies a 31% upside from the previous close.
The company is primarily engaged in recycling lead, with a strong 21% revenue growth expected.
Significant capex of Rs 600 crore to more than double capacity over three years.
There is scope to ramp up the utilisation materially with 29% operating profit (Ebitda) and 31% profit growth on a compounded annual basis.
The valuation is based on 35 times of estimated September 2026 earnings per share.

Also Read: Vodafone Idea Q1 Results: Loss Lower Than Estimated

Jefferies On Manappuram Finance

The brokerage maintained 'buy' call, with a target price of Rs 270, an upside of 30% from the previous close.
The company's higher operating profit is offset by higher provisions.
First quarter profit growth 3% below Jefferies estimate.
Strong 10% sequential growth in gold loan portfolio.
The brokerage has flagged concerns on stress in micro-finance and non-gold largely that are priced in.
The value is at 1.2 times the September 2026 price-to-book.

Also Read: Trade Setup For Aug. 14: Nifty May Test 24,000, Key Support At 24,200