Stock Picks Today: Asian Paints, L&T, Tata Motors Among Others On Brokerages' Radar
Asian Paints Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Tata Motors Ltd., IGI Ltd., Bank of India, Piramal Enterprises Ltd., and Varun Beverages Ltd. are among the companies brokerage have commented on.
Asian Paints Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Tata Motors Ltd., Adani Green Energy Ltd., IGI Ltd., Bank of India, Piramal Enterprises Ltd., and Varun Beverages Ltd. are among the companies garnering brokerage commentary today. Analysts have shared their insights and, in several cases, revised their target prices based on their updated fundamental outlooks for these firms, broadly based on the first quarter financials that the players have put out.
Here are the key analyst calls to watch out for today:
On Asian Paints
UBS
Maintained Sell; target price of Rs 2,100.
Q1 results marginally better than consensus revenue and Ebitda.
Competition elevated, growth outlook likely to stay tepid.
Valuations 30% discount to its 5-years average multiple given heightened competitive intensity.
Morgan Stanley
Maintained Underweight; target price of Rs 1,909.
Focus on Driving Growth; Competitive Intensity to Persist.
Early green shoots in demand visible in urban markets.
Near term, volume and value growth expected in single-digits.
July demand trends similar to Q1.
Given early Diwali, major part of festive demand visible in September.
Citi
Maintained Sell; hiked target price to Rs 2,150 from Rs 2,100.
Q1: Weaker-Than-Expected Start to FY26.
Growth and margin likely to improve from Q2.
Growth primarily due to low base and not moderation in competitive intensity.
Sustained competitive intensity and recent M&A may drive higher discounting.
Marketing investments leading to further earnings downgrade and/or de-rating.
HSBC
Maintained Buy; cut target price to Rs 2,800 from Rs 2,900.
Q1 results broadly in line, green shoots visible.
Demand green shoots emerge, but push-pull continues due to early monsoon.
Q2 to see benefit of early festive season.
Higher TiO2 prices could be offset by lower prices on other raw materials.
Ebitda margins stay around current 18% level.
Goldman Sachs
Maintained Sell; hiked target price to Rs 2,250 from Rs 2,150.
Q1: In line quarter, competitive intensity to remain high going forward.
Gross margin impacted by mix deterioration.
Management acknowledges competitive intensity likely to remain high.
Near term volume growth to be in single digit, per management.
Jefferies
Maintained Buy; hiked target price to Rs 2,900 from Rs 2,830.
Decorative volume growth showed an improvement, a key positive.
Demand commentary also positive, although market should stay competitive.
Correction in input costs should help offset some impact of the increase in anti-dumping duty on TiO2.
See impact on margins in the near-term.
See it as a strong contra idea as we expect a pick-up in volume growth ahead.
On L&T
Investec
Maintained Buy; hiked target price to Rs 4,460 from Rs 4,115.
Beats on most fronts; strengthens confidence further.
Order inflows robust; strong visibility.
Impressive working capital mgmt.
L&T has won multiple orders in the Middle East, which should be booked in Q2, and feel it is likely to surpass its guidance.
Goldman Sachs
Maintained Neutral; hiked target price to Rs 3,540 from Rs 3,400.
Q1 Review: Good quarter overall; margin recovery still elusive.
Net working capital-to-revenue remained strong and drove the improvement in RoE.
Market would not worry about order inflow and execution for L&T in the medium term.
Margins which have remained stagnant for a while now may be the key investor focus.
Jefferies
Maintained Buy; hiked target price to Rs 4230 from Rs 3965.
Visibility further rises on growth trajectory.
Q1FY26 Ebitda was 7% ahead of expectations as execution was higher.
33% YoY rise in order flow puts L&T in a comfortable position to meet its annual 10% year-on-year growth guidance.
Higher contribution from hydrocarbon gives comfort on margins having some uptick potential.
Revenue guidance of 15% YoY looks low, given the order book growth.
Believe L&T price should offset the 8% 1-yr underperformance to Nifty ahead.
On Tata Motors
UBS
Maintained Sell; target price of Rs 690.
Media report indicates Iveco Group is near to selling its commercial trucking business to Tata Motors.
If true, Tata Motors may have to spend over €1.5bn, on the basis of Iveco’s valuation.
This is including mandatory open offer that would be triggered under regulations.
Potential acquisition comes at a time when other Indian companies are scaling back European manufacturing footprint.
On Adani Green
Jefferies
Maintained Buy; target price of Rs 1300.
Better utilisation helps Ebitda surprise by 3%.
Q1FY26 Ebitda was up 26% driven by 42% year on year generation growth.
Capacity addition pace picked up in Q1 and has continued with 1.6 GW added in Q1.
Raise our FY26E-28E Ebitda assumptions by 4-5% to factor Q1.
Estimate 4.5 GW addition in FY26E and 6.3 GW in FY27E.
Mgmt on call exhibited confidence in 5 GW addition target in FY26E which gives upside scope to our estimates if achieved.
On IGI
Morgan Stanley
Maintained Overweight; target price of Rs 533.
Q2CY25: In line; Strategy and optimism reiterated.
Outlook of 15-20% top-line growth in CY25, with Ebitda margins in the range of 57-64%.
Certification revenue growth was driven by 24% YoY growth in LGD loose stone and 15% year on year growth in natural diamond loose stones.
See LGD jewellery as a new growth vector in India and jewellery segment to drive a significant proportion of the growth.
On Bank of India
Morgan Stanley
Maintained Underweight; target price of Rs 110.
Good numbers, but unlikely to sustain.
While NIM remains low, it was better than estimates.
This, coupled with strong fees and lower operating cost, drove a 25% beat on core PPoP.
Asset quality was good, as expected.
Expect margins to move lower, and view the fee income growth as unsustainable.
On Piramal Enterprises
CLSA
Maintained Hold; hiked target price to Rs 1,200 from Rs 1,030.
Steady with some red flags.
AUM growth strong; MSME/small ticket LAP emerging stress area.
Sequentially weaker operating profit but lower credit cost supported net profit.
Retail segment GS3 up 20bps; unsecured MSME and used car finance problem area.
Merger with Piramal Finance set to be completed by September.
Citi
Maintained Sell; hiked target price to Rs 950 from Rs 800.
ECL Model Tweaks Ease Credit Cost; Legacy Impact Muted.
ECL refinement led to reduced provision cover; growth GNPA inched up.
Unsecured MSME/used car financing witnessed risk deterioration.
Growth AUM rose 38% year on year driven by Retail; share increased to 93%.
Modest RoE, legacy AUM haircut, persistent volatility will likely weigh on valuation.
On Varun Beverages
CLSA
Maintained High Conviction Outperform; cut target price to Rs 774 from Rs 786.
In line; rush without sugar.
Strong margin expansion amid volume decline as VBL flexes cost levers.
India business volume decline of 7%; domestic realisation driven lower by mix.
Ebitda margin expansion of 82bps YoY driven by operational efficiencies.
New CFO appointed; cost saving initiatives sustainable.
Goldman Sachs
Maintained Buy; hiked target price to Rs 610 from Rs 590.
Q2CY25: Margins better than expected and volumes likely to recover.
Consolidated results above estimates driven by international business and India margins.
India’s volume decline was due to adverse weather (weak summer), expect a recovery in H2CY25.
Margin delivery gives comfort on competitive intensity impact.
International business delivered a very strong quarter on growth and margins.
