BofA Sec on Banks
Buy on HDFC, ICICI, Axis, Kotak
Valuations & Consensus EPS Momentum Remain Near-term Tailwinds
Big 4 Private Banks’ Outperformance Expected To Continue Through Q1FY25 Results
Big 4 Private Banks’ Outperformance Expected Given Stable Outlook For Growth & NIM
Positioning & Flows Remain Supportive
Any Revival In EM Flow Will Benefit Large Cap Banks
Continue To Like PSBs But Do Not Expect Q1FY25 To Be A Major Stock Catalyst
Consensus Earnings Upgrades Are Likely To Resume Only After Q2FY25
GS on Neuland Labs
Buy Call, Target Rs 9,100
Co’s Primary Focus Remains On Small Molecule CDMO Projects In Human Health
Health Sector Is Where The Opportunity Remains Large, With Good Visibility Of Growth
Differentiated Offerings Include Agile Project Management
Differentiated Offerings Include Expertise On Regulatory Affairs For NCE Development
Mgmt Continue To Focus On SMID Biotech Where There Is Scope For Value Addition
Accelerate Filings In The Specialty API Segment
Kotak Inst. on JB Chemicals
Initiate Buy, Target Rs 2,025
Co Offers A Healthy Cocktail Of A Robust Domestic Franchise
Co Offers Niche CMO Presence & Measured Exports Strategy, Aided By Peerless Execution
Having Primarily Grown Organically Until FY22, Co Has Outperformed IPM In The Past Decade
Co Handsomely Outperformed The IPM In The Past Decade By 600 bps
Co Currently Ranks 22 In The IPM
Expect Strong 17%/19% EBITDA/PAT CAGRs Over FY24-27
Strong EBITDA/PAT CAGRs Backed By Improved MR Productivity In India
Nomura on Bharti Airtel
Buy Call, Target Rs 1,650
Co Raises Tariff Plans By 13-21%; Entry Level Unlimited 5G Plans Unchanged For Now
Industry Outlook Remains Robust As Focus Shifts To Value Creation & Monetisation
Co’s Mgmt Indicated Exit ARPUs Of Rs 300 In FY26
Co Would Require Another Tariff Hike Of 20% In FY26
Tariff Repair Now Appears To Be On The Horizon
Tariff Repair Will Drive Robust Earnings For The Industry And Improve Industry Health
Jefferies on Bharti Airtel
Buy, TP raised to Rs 1740
Co’s tariff hikes of 10-21% was c.2% lower than expectations
While its tariff premium vs. Jio for feature phone users has gone up, premium for smartphone users has reduced
This should support Co’s data subscriber additions
UBS on Bharti Airtel
Neutral, TP Rs 1480
Magnitude of price hike smaller than Jio
Macquarie on USL
Underperform Call, Target Rs 1,000
Elections, Heat Wave To Weigh On Q1 Sales
Muted Volume Growth Likely In Q1FY25
Expect 10% Growth In Prestige Sales For Q1FY25
Expect Cost Control Benefits To Result In Standalone EBITDA Growth Similar To Sales Growth At 8%
MS on Amara Raja
Underweight Call, Target Rs 967
Co Now Matches Exide On Capability But Lags On Customer Wins & Ramp-Up Timeline
Fin Returns On Li Battery Biz Are Still Not Clear As EV Battery Deflation Continues
Thus, Remain Selectively Overweight; Prefer Exide Over Amara
MS on Steel
Steel Stocks Continued To Do Well, With Expectations Of Policy Reforms Continuity
Supported By Improved Macro Sentiment In China
Steel Stocks In Our Coverage Are Up 21% In Past Six Months On A Weighted Average Basis
Steel Stocks Have Outperformed The Sensex By 10 ppt
Believe This Outperformance Is Overdone
Kotak Inst. on IndiGo
Buy Call, Target Rs 5,700
Passengers’ Ability To Pay & Losses Will Drive Gradual Increase In Air Fares Over Time
Willingness Of Air Passengers To Pay May Get Tested In The Near Term
Can Impact The Near-term Load Factors And Pricing Strategies Of Airlines
IndiGo Is Only Airline Making Money, A Good Play On An Uptick In Air Fares Over Time
UBS on L&T Fin
Initiate Buy, TP Rs 230
Believe co now on path to expand its b/s after more than 5 yrs, as it nears completion of its loan book shift from wholesale to retail
Has a leading rural portfolio(45% of AUM) & stands to benefit from a likely Govt. increase in rural spend
Market also underestimating its ROA trajectory
Est. unwind of remainder of its wholesale exposure could drive 30bp ROA improvement; hence expect RoA to reach 2.9% by FY26E vs 2.2% in FY24
Believe risk-reward is favourable; trading @1.6X FY26E P/B
