Stock Picks Today: Phoenix Mills, Nestle India, RIL, Bajaj Finance on Brokerages' Radar

Phoenix Mills Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., Bajaj Finance Ltd., as well as several telecom, auto and consumer sector stocks are garnering brokerage commentary today.

Analysts are providing insights on company-specific developments, sector trends, and the potential impact of government policies. Here are the key analyst calls to watch out for today.

• Upgraded to Buy from Neutral and hiked target price to Rs 2,044 from Rs 1673.

• The commissioning of new malls will be a key driver of growth beyond FY27.

• Upcoming mall projects, a surge in the office portfolio by 3x, and momentum in the hotel segment are expected to boost overall growth.

• GST Council meeting is a key watch-out.

• Scenario 1: Products currently at 12% move to 5%. This would be positive for companies like Nestle, Emami, and Dabur.

• Scenario 2: All packaged food products move to 5%. This would be a positive for Britannia, Nestle, Varun Beverages, and Tata Consumers, in addition to Emami and Dabur.

• Scenario 3: Mass consumption FMCG products move to 5%. This would be a positive for HUL, Britannia, GCPL, Marico, Nestle, Varun Beverages, and Tata Consumers, along with Emami and Dabur.

• Eicher Motors and TVS Motor led growth in August, with wholesale volumes up 55% and 30% YoY, respectively.

• Two-wheelers and tractors saw strong wholesale growth, while passenger vehicle (PV) wholesales remained weak.

• Top buys: TVS, M&M, and Maruti Suzuki, followed by Eicher.

• Maintained Outperform with a target price of Rs 1,150.

• CLSA is sanguine on medium-term loan growth and sees positive momentum.

• The company is focusing on integrating AI across its business and reiterated its credit cost guidance of 1.85%-1.95%.

• The impact of repo rate cuts has started flowing through, and management expects a 10 bps NIM (Net Interest Margin) expansion over the year from current levels.

• In the SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprise) financing segment, the company has started trimming growth to curtail potential asset quality issues.

• Bajaj Finance remains a top pick in financials, along with State Bank of India and ICICI Bank.

• Quick commerce is moving toward profitability as discounts stabilize.

• Blinkit is accelerating its store expansion, while Swiggy and Zepto are consolidating their positions.

• Profitability is expected to improve for all players as Swiggy and Zepto reduce burn and competitive pressure eases.

• All players are lifting their assortments.

• CLSA maintains a High Conviction Outperform rating on Eternal and an Outperform rating on Swiggy.

• Maintained Overweight and hiked target price to Rs 1701 from Rs 1602.

• Morgan Stanley believes that "Anti-Involution & AI" will redefine RIL's equity story.

• RIL is seen as the largest beneficiary of China's "anti-involution" focus on energy and solar supply chains.

• RIL's own anti-involution efforts in consumer retail and telecom are also yielding results.

• The brokerage estimates that involution adds $20 billion in NAV (Net Asset Value) and 17% to FY28 EPS (Earnings Per Share).

• Government expenditure growth is likely to slow in the second half of the year.

• Converting "GST Cess" to "GST" would aid the rationalization process without a significant fiscal impact.

• Fiscal concerns have resurfaced due to slowing personal and corporate income tax collections, which may pressure disinvestment.

• Government expenditure needs to slow down considerably to avoid fiscal slippage.

• 10-year G-sec yields should ease from current levels.

• Jefferies expects GST rate cuts to be deflationary, potentially creating room for further RBI interest rate cuts. A 25 bps rate cut appears likely, with a 50 bps cut possible if growth slows materially.

• Reliance Jio's listing time has been confirmed, which increases the likelihood of tariff hikes.

• Expects tariff hikes towards the end of CY25 and another round at the end of CY26.

• The run-up to the Jio IPO over the next nine months should keep Bharti Airtel in focus as the key comparable.

• Bharti has successfully monetized and improved ROIC (Return on Invested Capital) from previous tariff actions.

• Bharti could see a re-rating if Jio lists at a premium multiple.

• Bharti remains a top Telco Overweight.

• Bernstein questions if the recent thaw in India-China relations is a defining strategic realignment moment.

• Notes that India is a "missing supplier" to China's imports, which exceed $2 trillion annually. India appears in the top 5 for only one product category out of the top 31 imported by China.

• Phones, auto parts, and iron/steel are the only areas with reasonable scope for India's exports to China.

• India's manufacturing ecosystem is not robust enough to offer China a meaningful cost advantage for most imports.

• India may relax FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) norms and potentially open its internet ecosystem to Chinese firms to counterbalance US tech bans.

• India may also invite Chinese participation in sectors like solar cells and EV components, where it already has a high dependence on Chinese imports.