Brokerage Views: UBS On Power Finance Corp. And REC, Ventura On Paytm, Emkay On HCL Tech

UBS is bullish on Indian power financiers, and initiated coverage on Power Finance Corp. and REC Ltd. with a 'buy' rating. Ventura began coverage on Paytm, expecting growth to be driven by gross merchandise value, loan disbursal, and marketing services. Emkay remains positive on HCL Technologies Ltd.

Axis Capital Ltd. hiked its target price on PNB Housing, with stock up 10% since its coverage began.

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 Thursday.

UBS On Power Financiers

Initiated coverage with a 'buy' rating on Power Finance Corp. with a target price of Rs 67 per share, indicating a potential upside of 25%.
The brokerage also began coverage on REC Ltd. with a 'buy,' with a target price of Rs 720 apiece, implying a potential upside of 17%.
Values PFC and REC at 1.2 times and 1.7 times the price-to-book value of fiscal 2026, respectively.
Strong growth underpinned by shift to renewable and infrastructure.
Key growth support from energy transition and infra financing.
Stress dynamics are different from previous cycle.

Also Read: REC To Provide Rs 45,000 Crore Finance To JNPA

Ventura On Paytm

Initiated coverage on the stock with a 'buy' rating, with a target price of Rs 1,170 per share, implying a potential upside of 117.6%.
Paytm's business model is robust.
Expects growth of revenue at 14%, contribution profit at 15.6% and pre-esop Ebitda at 54.5% till fiscal 2027.
Growth expected from gross merchandise value, loan disbursal, marketing services.
Value at 36 times company's enterprise value relative to its gross profit in fiscal 2027.

Emkay On HCL Technologies

Emkay retained 'add' rating on the stock, with a target price of Rs 1,850 per share, indicating a potential upside of 7.9%.
Industry is at a major inflection point, with rising adoption of artificial intelligence.
Data and AI, SAP cloud services market, cyber security, cloud migration, to create opportunities for double-digit growth in medium term.
Well placed to benefit from the growing addressable IT Services market.
Plans to improve market participation with better G2000 coverage.
Demand setting is a tad more optimistic versus a few months ago, especially in the banking, financial services and insurance sector.
Tech, media, telecom to continue seeing faster growth than peers.
Emkay hiked 12-month target multiple to 25 times from 23 times and rolled forward estimates.

Also Read: Stock Market Today: Nifty Posts Best Winning Streak In Nearly 17 Years; RIL, ITC Lead Gains

Nirmal Bang On HCL Tech

Maintained 'buy' rating with a target price of Rs 1,888 per share, implying a potential upside of 10%.
Favourable portfolio to deliver industry leading growth.
Areas of improvement to drive double-digit growth for next five years.

Axis Capital On PNB Housing

Hiked the target price to Rs 1,070 per share, implying a potential upside of 18.5% from previous close.
Initiated coverage on Aug. 12, with stock rising 10% since.
Reinstated confidence given transitioning business model, clean balance sheet.
Company has ability to manage spreads in event of a rate cut.
Credit costs to be around 30 basis points during the same period.
Expects share of affordable vertical to rise to around 15% versus 4% currently.
Values the company at 1.5 times the price-to-book value ratio of fiscal 2026.