Citi reiterated a cautious stance on Bata India, pointing to demand challenges and high valuations, while also highlighting positive catalysts in the oil marketing space with Bharat Petroleum Corp., Hindustan Petroleum Corp., and Indian Oil Corp.
Exide Industries Ltd. and Indraprastha Gas Ltd. got 'buy' ratings, driven by resilient demand and growth potential, while Apollo Hospitals' expansion plan saw Morgan Stanley's support.
Meanwhile, Investec remains optimistic on Gland Pharma’s growth trajectory amid operational improvements.
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 Tuesday.
Citi On Bata India
Maintained a 'sell' rating with a target price of Rs 1,050 per share (revised from Rs 1,150), indicating a 21% downside.
Key drivers for the sell call include a weak demand environment and underperformance in new growth areas.
Valuation seen as expensive due to modest revenue growth and profitability below pre-Covid levels.
Citi On Indian Oil Marketing Companies
Maintained a positive view on OMCs, identifying them as an attractive re-entry point. Prefers BPCL, HPCL, and IOCL in that order.
Initiated a 90-day positive catalyst watch on HPCL, with an open catalyst watch on BPCL.
Recent stock corrections following weak Q2 earnings have improved risk/reward dynamics.
Positive outlook on OMCs is supported by reduced risk of sharp fuel price cuts, expected compensation for LPG under-recoveries, range-bound crude prices with a downward bias, and a near-term rebound in Gross Refining Margins.
Citi On Exide Industries
Maintained a 'buy' rating with a revised target price of Rs 540 per share (from Rs 610), indicating a 21.3% upside.
Robust demand seen in the auto replacement and industrial-UPS and solar segments, although home-UPS demand softened due to the early monsoon.
Easing commodity prices expected to support profitability.
Financial year 2025-27 earnings estimates reduced by 11% due to softer demand and higher costs. Awaiting clarity on core demand trends and potential client onboarding for the lithium-ion cell plant.
Citi On Indraprastha Gas
Maintained a 'buy' rating with a target price of Rs 525 apiece, implying a 27% upside.
Initiated a 90-day positive catalyst watch on strong volume growth, setting a strong base for 7-8% volume growth over the next three to four years.
Recent stock correction brings valuation to average long-term price-to-earnings ratio.
Reducing dependency on government, which has been a key drawback in IGL's business model.
Citi On HDFC Bank
Maintained a 'buy' rating with a target price of Rs 1,990 per share, indicating a 14.6% upside.
HDB Financial, a subsidiary, has filed for a Rs 12,500 crore initial public offer to meet listing norms and raise capital.
Post-issue net worth is expected to translate to 2.8-4.3% of the bank’s capital, providing growth capital.
Morgan Stanley On Apollo Hospitals
Maintained an 'overweight' rating with a target price of Rs 7,110 apiece, indicating a 1% upside.
Company is building a new 500-bed hospital in Worli, Mumbai. Market share in metro areas projected to increase from 57% in financial year 2024 to 60% in financial year 2029.
Capital expenditure over financial years 2024-29 earmarked at Rs 6,100 crore.
Investec On Gland Pharma
Retained a 'buy' rating with a target price of Rs 2,055 per share, indicating a 27.7% upside.
Second quarter showed sequential improvement driven by strong core business, excluding Cenexi.
New contracts expected to support medium to long-term growth.
The company aims for Ebitda break-even at Cenexi by fourth quarter of financial year 2025.
US business growth expected from new launches, with further improvement at Cenexi in the second half of financial year 2025, due to capacity additions and site upgrades.
Citi On Bajaj Auto
Maintained a 'sell' rating with a target price of Rs 7,800 per share, indicating a 21% downside.
Domestic two-wheeler volume trend weaker than peers, with an 8% year-on-year decline, contrasted with 17% and 13% growth by Hero and TVS, respectively.
Export two-wheeler volumes rose 22% year-on-year, resulting in overall two-wheeler volume growth of 2%.
Target price based on 23 times March 2026 estimated Earnings Per Share, reflecting a 15% premium to the average one-year forward price-to-earnings multiple.