Brokerage Views: JPMorgan On LIC, Citi On NMDC, Aurobindo Pharma And More

Among the most notable updates is JPMorgan upgrading Life Insurance Corp.'s rating to 'overweight' from 'underweight' after company's strong second quarter earnings.

Nuvama also upgraded UPL to a 'buy' from 'reduce', reflecting an optimistic outlook driven by a rights issue and the expected unlocking of value from Advanta. In contrast, Citi’s cautious stance on NMDC and Aurobindo Pharma highlights the downside risks in sectors dealing with falling realisations, rising costs, and volatile demand in key markets like the US generics space.

Across sectors, brokers are also highlighting mixed fortunes for stocks in the consumer, pharmaceuticals, technology, and cement industries. For instance, Citi has a 'buy' on Devyani International Ltd. and Jubilant Foodworks Ltd., citing operational outperformance and strong growth, albeit with some caution regarding near-term earnings volatility.

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.

• Double upgrade to 'overweight' rating, with target price also increased to Rs 1,075 per share on strong VNB growth in Q2, from enhanced product mix.

• Will likely continue to outweigh negative impact from higher product benefits, lower bond yields.

• Revises VNB forecasts for FY25E and 26E by 9% and 11%, respectively.

• Weaker margins in par segment or moderation in mix enhancement are key risks.

• Retained 'buy' but cut the target price to Rs 700 from 715 per share, implying a 16% upside.

• Continues to operationally outperform.

• Recent initiatives to improve dine-in sales.

• Like-for-like growth continues to improve; outpace sector.

• Preferred pick in QSR space.

• Reiterated 'hold' and revised target price to Rs 631 from Rs 568 apiece, implying an upside of 4.8%.

• Remains bullish on the company's turnaround potential.

• Positive LFL growth in Q2 FY25 has set it apart in a challenging market.

• Focus on delivery and innovative strategies has fuelled this success.

• Slight adjustments in FY25E/26E revenue (-1.1/-0.3%) and PAT (-5.7%/-0.6%) projections.

• Upgraded to 'buy' from 'reduce' and raised the target price to Rs 590 per share from Rs 486 apiece, which implies an upside of 15%.

• Rights issue and value unlocking from Advanta to strengthen balance sheet.

• FY25 revenue growth guidance at 4–8% and Ebitda growth of 50%.

• Company is confident of margin expansion in second half of the fiscal; destocking phase is over.

• Key concerns: leveraged balance sheet and inability to raise funds.

• Maintained 'sell' on NMDC and reduced target to Rs 195 per share, implying a 16.7% downside.

• Q2 Ebitda miss on weaker realisations, higher costs, lower volumes.

• Q2 average realisations at Rs 4,855/t, down Rs 450/t sequentially.

• Expects NMDC's prices to correct due to 25% premium to export parity

• Cut FY25-27 Ebitda by 1-2%.

• Maintained 'sell' with target price of Rs 1,285.00, which implies an upside potential 0.1%.

• Expects temporary strength in US generics market.

• Recent US performance seen as a short-term trend, not a structural change.

• Street may view temporary US strength as lasting.

• This potentially may lead to downward earnings revisions.

• Maintained 'buy' with a target price of Rs 213 per share, implying a 22.4% upside.

• Revenue growth of 49% YoY was 2% ahead of Citi estimates.

• Profitability/margin negatively impacted by Nigerian currency devaluation and negative SSG.

• Increased FY25-27E revenue estimates by ~1% but cut Ebitda estimates by 3-6%.

• Expects near-term earnings to likely remain volatile.

• On uptick in consumer sentiment, QSR to be biggest beneficiary

• Maintained 'sell' with a price target of Rs 4,860 per share, implying a 4.9% downside potential.

• Intelliswift deal valued at 1.1 times EV/Sales.

• Organic revenue guidance of 8-10% constant currency YoY growth remains unchanged.

• Estimate this will add ~7-8% to revenue.

• Maintained 'buy' and raised the target price to Rs 1,850.00 per share from Rs 1,730 apiece, implying an upside of 15.6%.

• Revenue was led by growth in converted users, Cost Per Converted User was flat QoQ.

• Growth was largely broad-based in the quarter.

• FY25/26E EBIT margin estimates are now higher by +30bps/+10bps to 18%/19% on lower employee expenses.

• Have 90-day positive catalyst watch open on Go Digit.

• Go Digit has significant levers to aid earnings over medium-term.

• Has a 'buy' rating with price target of Rs 450, implying 35% upside.

• ICICI Lombard GIC: Has a 'sell' with a price target of Rs 1,680 per share, implying 12% downside.

• Star Health: Has a 'sell' rating with a price target of Rs 490 per share, implying 4% upside

• Prefers Infosys Ltd. and HCLTech over others in the sector; are the only 'neutral'-rated stocks in the sector.

• Nifty IT outperformed Nifty by ~6% since the US elections.

• ~40% of revenues for Indian IT are non-US; could be negatively impacted.

• Sees moderate and gradual recovery with no margin improvement.

• Finds valuations high and remain cautious.

• Lower US tax rate will likely improve tech services spends.

• Retained 'buy' with a target price of Rs 765 from Rs 710 earlier, an upside of 18%.

• Strong performance in product business led by ACs up 211% YoY.

• Management raised their revenue/PAT guidance by 16%.

• Company's expansion and strategic investments in innovation are clearly paying off.

• Expects company to post a revenue/PAT CAGR of 29%/43% over FY24–27E

• Values stock at 50 times Dec-26E EPS.

• Morgan Stanley maintains 'underweight' on Shree Cement, with a target price of Rs 24,200 per share.

• Q2 Ebitda beat brokerage estimates, but missed consensus estimates.

• Sees unattractive medium term outlook for company.

• Limited clarity around capacity and volume market share gains.

• Raised FY25 Ebitda estimates by 2%, but lower FY26-27 estimates by 1% each.

• Change F26-27 EPS estimates by larger amount.

• has an 'equal-weight' with target price of Rs 5,424 per share.

• Company's financials missed on all fronts in the second quarter.

• Inflation hurt demand and profit.

• Company guided double digit volume growth, downside risk to this guidance seems likely.