Stock Picks Today: Cipla, HUL, Colgate, Laurus Labs, Bharat Forge, Auto And Airlines on Brokerages' Radar

Cipla, Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL), Colgate, Laurus Labs, Bharat Forge, and the Auto and Airlines sectors are drawing brokerage commentary today.

Analysts are providing insights on drug licensing deals, quarterly performance, strategic outlooks, and festive season sales trends. Here are the key analyst calls to watch out for today:

Nuvama

• Maintain Hold; Hike Target Price to Rs 1,725 from Rs 1,651.

• The Eli Lilly deal represents a significant growth affair.

• The India market is lucrative and evolving rapidly; Mounjaro sales serve as a testament.

• The deal provides Cipla with an estimated FY26 revenue boost and a head start in the semaglutide market.

Citi

• Maintain Buy; Hike Target Price to Rs 3,000 from Rs 2,900.

• A strategic vision underpins the medium-term growth outlook.

• Quarterly growth was negatively impacted by a transitory trade destocking.

• This destocking was in anticipation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate cuts.

• Management estimates a 200 basis points (bps) impact to growth.

• Citi believes focused execution of new initiatives could accelerate medium-term growth.

• Estimates 8% revenue and 9% Earnings Per Share Compound Annual Growth Rate over FY25-28.

Morgan Stanley

• Maintain Equal-weight with a Brokerages on HUL of Rs 2,335.

• The company is unblinkingly focusing on volume growth while awaiting the recovery.

• Price growth is expected to remain in the low single-digits in the second half.

• Winter and harvesting season are considered key monitorables.

• Returning the trade pipeline to the usual four- to six-week levels will take a few months.

• Demand is currently stable across both rural and urban markets.

• The ice cream business demerger will add 50–60 bps to overall margins, raising the guidance to 22-23%.

Goldman Sachs

• Maintain Buy; Cut target price to Rs 2,850 from Rs 2,900.

• Q2 indicates that growth recovery is likely in H2, but the pace will likely be gradual.

• The new Chief Executive Officer outlines volume-led revenue growth as the top priority.

• Margins are likely to sustain at current levels in H2.

• The firm cut EPS estimates to factor in a slower recovery.

Investec

• Maintain Hold; Cut target price to Rs 2,610 from Rs 2,612.

• The growth momentum remains soft.

• Margins stay resilient, but tailwinds are only optical.

• Investec believes the pace of growth recovery does not warrant a re-rating from current multiples.

Jefferies

• Maintain Buy; Hike target price to Rs 3,050 from Rs 3,000.

• The company shows an obsession for volume growth.

• Priya Nair’s strategy should yield results over the medium term, and the margin guidance remains unchanged.

• The GST rate cut impacted Q2 and the impact would continue into Q3.

• This is likely to disappoint investors with a short-term orientation.

• The Ice cream business is likely to list in Q4.

Citi

• Maintain Sell; Cut target price to Rs 2,100 from Rs 2,175.

• Q2 was weak due to a tough operating environment and GST-led disruption.

• The firm expects a gradually improving growth trajectory in the near-term.

• The Low Unit Price (LUP) structure is likely to offer a near-term boost to volumes.

• Citi remains cautious on the sustained impact of LUP for Home Care and Personal Care (HPC) categories.

• Consumer behavior may shift towards reduced purchase frequency rather than heightened consumption.

• The risk-reward is unfavorable at 41x 1-year forward consensus Price-to-Earnings (P/E).

Investec

• Maintain Sell; Cut target price to Rs 2,279 from Rs 2,366.

• The company saw a subdued performance.

• Revenue falls on the GST impact and a high base.

• Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBITDA) margin stays under pressure due to operating deleverage.

• Overall weakness in performance drives further EPS cuts.

Jefferies

• Maintain Buy with a target price of Rs 2,700.

• The quarter was expectedly weak.

• Management blamed transitory issues related to the GST rate cut.

• This resulted in destocking across the value chain, along with a high base.

• The premium portfolio, however, performed well, according to management.

• Jefferies cut EPS by 4-5%; the stock will stay rangebound until there is a growth pickup.

Kotak Securities

• Maintain Sell with a target price of Rs 625.

• The quarter saw a positive outcome, albeit not perfect.

• Anti-Retroviral (ARV) lumpiness and a higher commercial Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO) mix drive a 19% operating beat.

• CDMO is on a firm footing; investments in differentiated platforms augur well.

• Valuations remain untenable.

Jefferies

• Maintain Underperform; Hike target price to Rs 700 from Rs 590.

• The company beats on higher ARV sales.

• The overall outlook for the ARV segment remains muted.

• CDMO sales remained steady, supported by commercial animal health supplies.

• The company announced a $600 million capital expenditure (capex) over 8 years for a new Vizag site.

• Plans to invest in modalities like Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADC) and Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT), implying a long investment phase.

• Per Vahan data, India's Passenger Vehicle (PV) and Two-Wheheeler (2W) retail sales have increased 17% and 20% Year-on-Year (YoY), respectively, over 30 days since Navratri.

• Maruti among PVs and Hero among 2Ws have seen the biggest Month-on-Month (MoM) market share increase.

• Dealer checks indicate that discounts are coming off from elevated levels.

• MS expects Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to guide on the price hikes going into Q2 earnings.

• Airline trends remain muted: 30 days of the festive season show domestic capacity has increased $\sim$1% YoY, while domestic passenger (PAX) is flat YoY.

• Checks indicate that the airfares are holding well.

• A reduced diet of Russian crudes has a limited earnings impact for Indian refiners and consumers.

• It does affect fuel retailers, but if Brent stays below US$70/bbl, the earnings upgrade cycle will remain in play.

• The very tight global fuel refining system is also tightening further.

• MS owns HPCL and Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL).

On Gold

• GS believes sticky, structural buying will continue further.

• The firm still sees an upside risk to its $4,900 end-2026 forecast.

• GS sees growing interest in gold as a strategic portfolio diversifier.

On Ola

• Maintain Buy; Cut target price to Rs 62 from Rs 72.

• Market share moderation led to the target price cut.

• Maintain Equal-weight with a TP of Rs 1,050.

• Defence is ramping up, and US tariff headwinds are key to track.

• Media reports suggest that India's army has signed a contract with Bharat Forge.

• The total order size is Rs 2,770 crore.

• Bharat Forge had earlier stated that the company is an L1 bidder for the supply of 60% of the total order.

• The June 25 defense order book stood at Rs 9,460 crore, and this addition would take it to Rs 10,860 crore.

• The defence business is expected to rise to 18% of the FY27 top line vs 12% in FY25.

• Weak US Class 8 truck demand and US tariffs headwinds remain.