Brokerage Views: Axis Bank, Wipro, Infosys Get Rating Calls Post Earnings; Manappuram Faces Downgrades

Brokerages have issued their ratings for Axis Bank, Infosys Ltd., Wipro Ltd. and Tata Chemicals Ltd. among others after they reported their September quarter earnings. Manappuram Finance Ltd. faces downgrades after the RBI imposed restrictions on subsidiary Asirvad Microfinance that could hurt earnings.

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 Friday.

Brokerages On Axis Bank

Bernstein

Maintain 'outperform' with price target of Rs 1,250, likely upside of 11%
Good set of numbers but low quality beat.
Sequential improvement in credit costs.
Tight cost control and non interest income aided numbers.
Weak loan growth.
Slowdown in operational expenditure led to 1.8% return on assets.

Nuvama

Maintain 'buy' with target price of Rs 1,335, implying a potential upside of 18% over the previous close.
Low growth as well as liquidity coverage ratio.
Asset quality and core net interest margin improved.
Slippage declined and recoveries also improved.
Values the lender at two times the fiscal 2026 price-to-book value.

Brokerages On Manappuram Finance

Jefferies

Downgrade stock to 'hold' with target price to Rs 167, a potential downside of 5.6%.
RBI restrictions on subsidiary Asirvad Microfinance to hurt earnings.
Asirvad accounts for 27% of consolidated assets under management.
Parent may have to infuse capital if subsidiary’s net worth is eroded.
Remedial measures and removal of restrictions could take six months.
Cut earnings-per-share by 11-19% over the next three years.

Morgan Stanley

Downgrade to 'equal weight' with target price of Rs 170, compared to Rs 262 earlier, potential downside of 4%.
RBI embargo to hurt profit materially for longer.
Short tenured loan book to shrink rapidly.
Credit costs already elevated, funding costs could rise.
Cut consolidated earnings forecasts by 20% for current year and 30% across fiscal 2026 and 2-27.
Value at one time the FY27 standalone book value estimate.

JP Morgan

Downgrade to 'underweight'.
RBI bars fresh disbursement starting Oct 21.
Likely to impact funding costs.
Capital infusion required to be key risk.
Could take six months like in the case of IIFL.
Asirvad is 27% of Manappuram's book.
Risk of asset impairment is higher in this book.
Credit rating likely to get impacted.

Also Read: RBI Bars 4 NBFCs From Loan Sanctioning, Disbursal Due To High Lending Rates

Brokerages On Infosys

Morgan Stanley

Rated 'overweight' with target price of Rs 2,150, an upside of 9%.
Double-digit sequential rise in the small deal could drive improvement in conversion of TCV to revenue.
Net addition sequentially for first time in last six quarters supports expectations of continued volume growth.
Second quarter revenue slightly missed expectations; stock correction possible.
Constant currency revenue grew 3.1%, above consensus but below some estimates.
Organic CC growth of 2.3% was strong compared to peers.
EBIT margin fell short of estimates while FCF margin remains strong.
Infosys revised this year's guidance from 0.7% to 0.3% QoQ; outlook may be conservative.
Small deal pipeline shows double-digit growth, which may improve revenue conversion.
Key concerns are -- weak large deal wins (TCV of $2.4 billion), limited discretionary spending outside financial services and deferred wage hikes may affect margins.
EPS estimates for three years lowered by 2.5%-3.4%.
Current year revenue growth estimate trimmed to 4.7%.

Bernstein

Maintain 'outperform' with target price of Rs 2,270 from the earlier Rs 2,100, a potential upside 15%.
Revenue was a beat, margins in line.
Continue to see upcycle in largecaps.
Infosys expected to be growth leader driven by improved macro and BFSI.
The company maintained leadership with 2.3% sequential organic growth.
It grew ahead of rivals TCS and HCLTech.

Citi

Maintain 'neutral' with price target of Rs 1,965 from Rs 1,955 earlier, a downside 0.5%.
Reported decent second quarter, flattish margins; revenue guidance upper end raise – better than peers.
Guidance implies no growth in the next two quarters at the mid-point.
Management comment implies positive on US financial services & caution on European autos.
The stock is up 40% over six months; some near-term correction cannot be ruled out.
Continue to prefer Infosys over TCS (sell).
Expect a modest and gradual recovery in IT services.
Forward looking indicators still looking sluggish for most companies.
Margin levers for most companies are at close to optimal levels.
Expect cost pressures incoming as growth is through cost takeout deals.
Infosys has delivered better growth CQGR in first half of the year compared to peers.
Expect growth in FY26 to be better than peers.

Also Read: Infosys Q2 Results: Revenue Up 4.3%; FY25 Forecast Increased

Brokerages On Wipro

Macquarie

Maintain 'outperform' with target price of Rs 670, a potential upside of 26%.
Revenue and margins beat estimates, while profits in line.
Large total contract value was highest won in a quarter.
Revenue was broad based across clients.
Would have hoped for better revenue guidance in December quarter given strong deal wins.
Management attributed muted growth due to furloughs.
Continue to expect an improvement in growth helped by improved competitiveness.
Expects pickup in demand in calendar year 2025.

Bernstein

Maintain 'underperform' with target price of Rs 460, likely downside of 13%.
Guidance was underwhelming, revenue growth lagged peers and limited visibility of catchup.
Reported in line quarter and total bookings were in line with large deals.
Executed well on margins.
Relative performance against large peers continues to be weak.

Kotak Securities

Maintain 'sell' rating with target price of Rs 500 from Rs 460 earlier, a likely downside of 4.3%.
Reported revenue towards upper end of guidance, slight beat on margins, healthy large deal TCV.
Downbeat guidance for third quarter is disappointing.
Is consistent underperformer in the past with several failed turnaround attempts.
Current attempt has begun on a reasonable note amid demand headwinds, senior management attrition.
Stay cautious on turnaround outcome, noting still subpar performance and risks involved.
Expect more prudent capital allocation going forward, a positive.

Also Read: Wipro Q2 Results: Net Profit Rises 6%, Beats Estimates

Morgan Stanley On Tata Chemicals

Rated 'underweight' with target price of Rs 881, a potential downside of 18%.
Second quarter earnings in line but slightly below estimates.
Indian margins suffered from adverse weather; US on target, Kenya exceeded expectations.
Basic chemistry Ebitda per ton fell 10% sequentially.
Rising Chinese production may limit margin growth despite balanced market.
Weather issues cut Mithapur output by 30,000 tons of soda ash and 40,000 tons of salt.
Weak container glass and lithium carbonate demand offset by strong solar glass; Indian demand stable.

Also Read: Tata Chemicals Q2 Results: Profit Tumbles 46% But Beats Estimates

Brokerages On Havells

Citi

Maintain 'neutral' rating with target price of Rs 1,950, a potential 9% upside.
Trim three year EPS estimates by 3-10%,
See margins and profitability pressure on account of relatively slow growth in Switchgear.
Seek better entry point/valuation as current valuation of 65 times.

Jefferies

Rate 'hold' with target price of Rs 1,870, a potential upside of 5%.
Cut three year EPS estimates by 4-5%.
Over next three years, pencil in sales and net profit CAGR of 14% and 19% respectively.
Estimate operating profit margin revival to 10.9% by fiscal 2027 compared to 9.9% in the previous year, driven by better Lloyd profitability.

Also Read: Havells India Q2 Results: Profit Up Nearly 8% But Misses Estimates

Jefferies' Greed And Fear

Expected Federal funds rate is 3.5% by mid-next year.
Money markets anticipate 120 bps of Fed easing by the end of June next year.
Last Thursday's US CPI data was slightly disappointing, coming in above expectations.
Headline CPI rose 0.2% MoM and 2.4% YoY in September, versus expectations of 0.1% MoM and 2.3% YoY.
Core CPI increased 0.3% MoM and 3.3% YoY, above expectations of 0.2% MoM and 3.2% YoY.

Stock Picks

Internet- Reliance Industries, Zomato.
Life insurance- SBI life Insurance.
Property- Macrotech Developers, Godrej Properties.
Public sector banks- State Bank of India.
Private sector banks- ICICI Bank, Axis Bank.
Energy- JSW Energy.
Infrastructure- Larsen & Toubro, GMR Airports Infrastructure.

Brokerages On LTIMindtree

Morgan Stanley

Maintain 'overweight' with target price of Rs 7,050, a potential upside of 10%.
Lack of positive surprises in second quarter, softer than expected December quarter could drive near-term weakness.
Broader recovery trends are intact with BFSI momentum sustaining and large deal pipeline and strong headcount additions.
Use any weakness to accumulate the stock.
Stock has done well since the lows seen by the sector in May-end.
Given potential cuts to consensus earnings estimates, believe stock could trade down in the near term.
Broader recovery trends for the sector are still intact.

Investec

Reiterate 'sell' rating with target of Rs 5,600, a 11.7% potential downside.
Revenue growth in line with estimates, margins 30 bps below estimates.
Management commentary highlights weaker revenue growth in second half led by furloughs.
Stock has seen a meaningful rerating without commensurate outperformance.
See no meaningful catalyst to drive improvements in current year considering wage increases.

Citi

Maintain 'sell' with price target of Rs 5,710 from Rs 5,650 previously, a likely downside 11%.
Reported an inline second quarter on growth and margins.
Deal TCV steady at $1.3 bullion up 5% YoY on LTM basis.
Wage hikes announced for December quarter will impact margins by 200 bps.
Management commentary “cautious optimistic”.
Executing reasonably well in a tough macro, find street expectations too optimistic.
Expect a modest and gradual recovery in IT services.
Forward looking indicators looking sluggish across the board for most largecaps reported so far.
LTIM has delivered two decent quarters after a very challenging FY24.
Impact of furloughs and margin trajectory key variables to watch out for in the third quarter.

Also Read: LTIMindtree Q2 Results: Profit Rises 10%, Meets Estimates