LIC Share Price Gains After JPMorgan Raises Target Price
Life Insurance Corp. of India's share price was up more than 2% on Tuesday after it posted strong second quarter results and got a ratings upgrade from JPMorgan.
The brokerage has upgraded LIC's rating to 'overweight' from 'underweight', after the insurer reported a 47% year-on-year growth in the Value of New Business, surpassing JPMorgan's expectations.
It also raised its price target to Rs 1,075 per share from Rs 790, a 36% increase, reflecting confidence in LIC's ability to sustain its growth momentum, driven by a favourable shift in its product mix.
LIC's VNB for Q2 FY25 reached Rs 2,941 crore, driven by a 26% YoY growth in Annualised Premium Equivalent and a 2.6% YoY margin expansion, bringing the margin to 17.9%.
The brokerage had previously maintained an 'underweight' rating on the stock, based on concerns about margin pressure from higher product benefits. However, with the company's robust Q2 results, showing solid progress in diversification of product offerings, LIC's strategy of focusing on higher-ticket products will likely continue to pay off, according to JPMorgan.
LIC Share Price Today
Shares of LIC rose as much as 2.56%, the highest level since Nov. 7, before paring gains to trade 1.96% higher at Rs 936 apiece, as of 09:44 a.m. This compares to a 0.02% advance in the NSE Nifty 50.
The stock has risen 54.06% in the last 12 months. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 2.5 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 48.
Out of 20 analysts tracking the company, 15 maintain a 'buy' rating, four recommend a 'hold', and one suggests 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month analysts' consensus price target implies an upside of 24.3%.
-
Talking Points This Week: Leadership Shock At Nvidia, Earnings Strength, And The Fog Over Hormuz
The Anthropic IPO pricing and first trading day, Nvidia's upcoming earnings, and any fresh signals from Iran will set the tone for the following week.
-
Signature Play: The Classic Cocktail Is Dead. Or Is It?
Classic cocktails are disappearing from India's cocktail menus. But they're still being ordered, taught to bartenders and borrowed from. So, who's really having the last drink?
-
A New Samvat Wishlist: Inclusive Prosperity And Human Development
India has strengthened its economic foundations through infrastructure, digital access and enterprise. Its next growth chapter must deepen productivity, create better livelihoods and widen participation in prosperity.
-
Love, Sex Aur Dhokha: The Audacious Plot To Spy On Jensen Huang
A Taipei dinner, a Singapore chip buyer and a suspected Chinese asset: inside the alleged spy operation that got close to NVIDIA's Jensen Huang.
-
Ten Things I Learnt This Samvat
Patience can be a trap. Cheap stocks can stay cheap. Leverage can wipe you out. What did Samvat 2082 teach us? Niraj Shah writes on 10 lessons from the year gone by.
-
Talking Points This Week: Tech Nerves, FII Buying, And A Faraway Banking Shock
The global markets are not shining this Diwali. The exception in the large markets is, India.
-
Midterm Rally Lasted A Day. The Hard Reality Of A Divided US May Last Two Years | Opinion
Between a contested AI boom, a debt ceiling that arrives in 2027 and a president with every incentive to act alone, the next two years may prove more volatile than the first day's rally suggests.
-
Blue Wave Will Derail the AI Trade but Won't Dismantle the AI Era | Unhedged Position
The Democrats' sweep of the US Congress will see politics collide with economic forces both over the long and short term.
-
It's Time To Take The GST Council's Bet On Trust Global
Payment records can prove India's services exports, and clear, proportionate rules can bring foreign digital sellers into the tax net.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
