Brokerage Views: Nomura, Kotak On Accenture; Nuvama On Infra And More

Accenture Plc. is in analysts' focus after the multinational IT major announced it's quarterly results. Nuvama Research declared its top pick in the Indian infrastructure and initiated coverage on Bikaji Foods International Ltd. Forecasting a strong demand in June, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd. is tracking capital goods.

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

Nomura On Accenture

Has a 'buy' rating on: Cognizant, Tech Mahindra Ltd., Coforge, Birlasoft Ltd. and EClerx Services Ltd.
Has a 'reduce' rating on: Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Wipro Ltd., LTIMindtree Ltd., L&T Technology Services Ltd. and Mphasis Ltd.
Narrows FY24 guidance.
Expects revenue growth from the consulting business to turn positive in Q4.
Client cautiousness due to macro uncertainties is weighing on tech spending clients as they continue to prioritise cost take-out projects.
Discretionary spends remain weak.
Accenture is focusing on investments in its Gen AI team.
It plans to increase data and AI workforce to 80,000 by end of 2026 from the current 55,000 employed.
⁠Believes discretionary demand is unlikely to recover meaningfully in FY25F for India IT.
Maintains a cautious stance.
⁠Revenue growth for large caps should improve in FY25, driven by cost take-out deals.

Kotak On Accenture

Stock is not rated.
Narrows FY24 guidance but maintains the midpoint of 2% growth.
Strong bookings have a positive impact on Indian IT.
Demand for Indian IT does not appear to be improving.
Slowdown in discretionary spends, emphasis on cost takeout deals continue.
⁠Japan and consulting which was good for Accenture not relevant for Indian IT.

Nuvama On Indian Infrastructure

Top pick is PNC Infratech Ltd.
Only 4 km of roads were awarded in April to May due to constraints owing to the general election.
Road construction down 12% YoY to 1,288 km in the first two months of FY25.
Expects approval of revised cost of Bharatmala Project to lead to pickup in project awards.
While commodity prices have softened, key issue is high competition
Road developers must work on segmental diversification.

Nuvama Initiates 'Buy' On Bikaji Foods

Initiates coverage with a 'buy' rating and target price of Rs 885 apiece, implying a potential upside of 23% from the previous close.
Strong presence in core regions shows ability to capture, retain a loyal customer base.
⁠Company eyeing untapped potential in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Karnataka, Telangana.
Expects frozen food revenue to hit Rs 200 crore in next three–four years vs Rs 30–33 crore now.
⁠Company to outgrow savoury snack industry growth at 18% compound annual growth rate over FY24–27.
Expects western snacks sale contribution to grow from 8% to 10–12%.
Growing ethnic snack popularity, consolidation in the unorganised sector to help the company.

Morgan Stanley On Suzlon Energy

⁠Maintains 'overweight' rating at a target price of Rs 58.5 apiece, implying a potential upside of 15.8% from the previous close.
The Daman plant production capacity is at 2.5GW of turbines per year.
⁠Wind project costs in range of Rs 7.5–8 crore per megawatt.
⁠Potential to expand production by utilising warehouse space.
Plant now caters to the domestic market vs exports earlier.

Motilal Oswal On Capital Goods

Maintains 'buy' rating on Cummins India Ltd. and Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd.
Generator set demand strong in Q1 FY25.
Channel checks indicate strong genset demand in Q1 FY25.
Demand mainly driven by pre-buying.
⁠Strong demand in June, with faster customer decision-making.
Export markets still weak, firms taking initiatives to export new products.
Players to see higher share of CPCB IV+ sales in June.
Expect Cummins India, Kirloskar Oil Engines to be ready with a Central Pollution Control Board's IV-compliant product portfolio.

Also Read: Stock Market Today: Nifty, Sensex Gain For Third Consecutive Week; Record Highest Weekly Close

Nomura on Indian Cement Sector

⁠Prefers Shree Cement Ltd., UltraTech Cement Ltd., Dalmia Bharat Ltd., Ramco Cements Ltd. and Nuvoco Vistas Corp.
Maintains a 'reduce' rating on Ambuja Cements.
⁠Average first quarter fiscal 2025 cement spread falls Rs 9 per tonne sequentially to Rs 2,857 per tonne.
Estimate lower industry cement realisation in first quarter at Rs 5,013 per tonne.
Average imported pet coke prices down 4% sequentially in first quarter ended June 30.
Expect industry to keep benefiting from low-cost fuel in first half of fiscal 2025.
⁠Cement prices moderate marginally in June from a month ago.
Dealers expect subdued demand in monsoon quarter.
Remain largely positive on sector on long term tailwinds: higher volumes and lower operating costs.

Kotak Instituitional Equities On Hero Motocorp

Maintain 'sell' rating with a target price of Rs 3,950 apiece, implying a potential downside of 28% from the previous close.
Continues to focus on strengthening its core business by growing core segments, gaining share in premium segments, and building differentiated EV products.
Intends to maintain Ebitda margins at 14-16% over the medium term.
Focus on expanding the category and fortify brands.
Recover lost market share in 125cc with Hero Xtreme and Xoom bikes.
Expect two-wheeler industry’s demand trends to remain steady.
Will be led by growth in premium motorcycles segment and rural recovery.
Maintains 'sell' on valuation as all positives already discounted.