Stock Picks Today: Coforge, PB Fintech, Molbio Diagnostics, Sudarshan Chemical, And More On Brokerages' Radar

Brokerages remained constructive on a range of stocks and sectors, with upbeat views emerging on IT services, financials, hospitals, capital markets and manufacturing themes.

JP Morgan On Coforge

• Maintain Overweight, TP Rs 1850/share 
• Management reiterated the near-term guidance of achieving consolidated EBIT margins of at least 15.5% (consol EBITDA of 20.5%-21%) in FY27 
• In 2Q27 remains on track to deliver the strongest ever quarter in terms of large deal signings.  
• Focus is on growing key client accounts via proactive sales rather than just hunting, as ~95% of revenue comes from existing clients. 
• Expects AI deflation to be a one-time hit of 15-30% over the next 3 years with most of its portfolio already through AI deflation 
• Expects to add another $100m annual revenue run-rate account in addition to its existing top account.   
• FCF to PAT conversion will be maintained at 100% 

Bernstein On PB Fintech 

• Maitain Outperform-TP Rs 1085/share (From Rs 2310/share) 
• Co may be forced to become an insurer  and it is not a bad thing  
• PolicyBazaar's PoSP and Health business (in the current avatar) are unviable at the proposed caps.  
• Would need to either scale down the costs (and growth) in the health segment, or find ways to capture the underwriting upside (more likely) 
• That could force them to become a health insurer 
• It is not the end of the world, and that it can be done in a capital-efficient manner. 

Jefferies On Molbio Diagnostics 

• Initiate Buy, TP Rs 1600/share.
• Breaking Through with Innovation.
• Two emerging platforms and a robust product pipeline. 
• Truenat (86% of FY26 sales) - Operates in a oligopolistic market.
• 26-29E Revenue/PAT CAGR of 22%/47% 
• Driven by scale-up existing products and operating leverage.

Axis Capital-India Strategy 

• EPS momentum steady despite global headwinds; strong EPS growth persists 
• EPS momentum continues to improve in Sep; FY27E sees more cuts in mid-caps 
• Mid-cap premium down from early-Sep peak, small-cap premium record-high 
• By sector, upgrades were limited to energy (crude spike) 
• FY27E earnings cuts were led by industrials (Indigo, due to crude spike) and real estate (mostly Godrej, delay in revenue realization timeline).  
• Financials saw cuts in FY28E EPS, led by insurance (IRDAI reforms) and NBFCs (potential rate hikes may impact borrowing costs). 
• MF flows incrementally shifted to mid-cap and small-cap schemes, supporting the high valuations 

Axis Capital On Sudarshan Chemical

• Maintain Buy-TP Rs 1490/share 
• Reiterated FY27/29E EBITDA guidance of Rs8bn/14-15bn despite macro volatility and sale of VP4  
• Growth will be led by steady revenue growth across its global/India businesses  
• Benefits from its multiple value-capture initiatives, as GCC is operational now (full benefits FY28 onwards).   
• Expect the company to more than double its EBITDA over FY26-29E 

Morgan Stanley On Lenskart 

• Maintain Overweight, TP Rs 718 (From Rs 666) 
• Raise F27-F30 consolidated revenue and earnings forecasts by 0-2% and 3-7% 
• Increase India EBITDA margin assumptions by 20-40bps to factor in the strong performance 
• International – raise revenue estimates by 15% for F27-F30 to factor in better recent performance  
• International business-builds in 24% revenue growth in F27 and 19% in F28-F30 
• Raise international EBITDA margin assumptions by 20-40bps during the next four years 

Bernstein On Solar PV Players

• Valuation gaps have converged  
• Premier and Waaree corrected, while Emmvee has re-rated 
• Caluations of companies with operating cell capacity are broadly aligned  
• Premier Energies is giving more certainty-given its plant is already up and into trial phase. 
• Indian players are at a reasonable premium vs China 
• Massive oversupply continues in China 

Macquarie On Capital Markets

• Recommend GROWW > MCX > BSE > NSE > Angel One 
• Financialization 2.0 supports more attractive financial profile than global peers 
• Industry has superior revenue growth, earnings growth, margins and ROEs 
• GROWW-Initiate Outperform-TP Rs 260/share 
• MCX- Initiate Outperform-TP Rs 3820/share 
• BSE- Initiate Outperform-TP Rs 4000/share 
• NSE- Initiate Outperform-TP Rs 1965/share 
• Angel One-Initiate Neutral-TP Rs 285/share 
• Groww-The Disruptor-Premium to global comps due to execution, share gain potentia 
• MCX- The Phoenix-Market still underprices platform optionality and cash-return potential 
• BSE-The Challenger-Premium to global peers on growth, margins, ROE and cash optionality. 
• NSE- The Dominator-Expect to expand revenue 12% vs a 12-14% TAM CAGR over FY26-30E 
• Angel One- The Transformer-Core margins below reported margins and EPS highly sensitive to volume declines 

UBS On ICICI Lombard General Insurance

• Maintain Neutral, TP Rs 1930/share  
• Tone positive on recent reforms  
• Digital capabilities are widening competitive advantages 
• Insured pool, improvement in industry economics expected 
• Launched 'VIBE', a digitally native Gen Z focused health insurance product 
• Key triggers- distribution reforms, "No Insurance, No Fuel" (currently under pilot implementation), longer-duration mandatory Third-Party cover and risk-based capital implementation 
• Emerging risks such as nat-cat events, cyber threats and newer categories such as surety insurance continue to expand the addressable market. 
• ICICI Lombard's relatively efficient operating model limits the need for material opex recalibration versus peers 

Macquarie On Banks  

• FY28: Looking like a strong year for banks 
• Expect banks to deliver strong ~18% FY28E EPS growth driven by a ~15bps rise in margins.  
• Attractive valuations offer further support.  
• Private banks should deliver strong EPS growth in the next two years as margins improve and operating expenses and credit costs fall. 
• Insurance firms have underperformed and offer good value; regulatory concerns priced in.  
• PSU banks: Rising margins to cushion ECL costs.  
• NBFCs: Healthy loan growth, but a rate increase could pressure margin 
• Key upgrades: Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bank of Baroda, PayTM, M&M Financial Services, LIC Housing Finance, and ICICI Pru to Outperform  
• Bajaj Finance, SBI Cards, Chola Investment from Underperform to Neutral.  
• Key downgrades: PB Fintech to Neutral from Outperform 
• Top picks and rankings 
• Banks: ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, SBI, and City Union Bank 
• Select NBFCs: AB Capiatl, L&T Finanace, Shriram Housing Finance, and M&M Finance 
• Fintech: PayTM  
• Insurance: LIC and SBI Life. 

JP Morgan On Hospitals 

• Demand is running ahead of supply, with new capacity getting absorbed faster than historical experience 
• Blunt price caps are unlikely given already modest net profit pools and the risk of disincentivising  
• If any tighter controls emerge, they are more likely to be around consumables (low share of the patient bill) 
• Tech-led hospitals to lift throughput and outcomes without outsized capex.   
• Top picks are Apollo Hospitals, Max Healthcare and Fortis. 

BOFA On MGL 

• Maintain Buy, TP Rs 1330 
• Favourable risk-reward 
• Policy tailwinds to support growth-margins resilient 
• Demand is not a constraint; gas availability and cost are the main swing factors. 
• Volume growth guidance intact at 8–9% p.a. 
• Spot dependence has fallen to ~2–3% or lower, and a small quantity of winter gas has been hedged at fixed prices 

CITI ON GMR AIRPORTS 

• Resume Coverage, TP at Rs 121/share  
• Midterm investment thesis of rising air-travel penetration in India 
• Ambitious capacity expansion plans of hub airlines 
• Rising non-aero spending, and clearly defined/executed capex recoupment frameworks have proven their virtues 
• View India as a price-sensitive market, which bodes well in a declining oil/ticket prices environment 

MOSL on Shriram Finance

• Reiterates Buy with TP of Rs 1,220
• New vehicle finance, MSME Gold emerging as key growth engines.
• New vehicle financing mix rises to ~16-17% of disbursements
• Mgmt targets 20-25% over next 2-3 yr in New Vehicle Financing
• MUFG's ~20% stake strengthens capital base and growth.
• Borrowing costs to decline by ~100 bps over next 2-3 years.
• NIM seen at ~9.2%/~9.1% in FY27/FY28 driven by lower funding costs.
• CTI ratio to decline to ~26%; Credit costs to remain contained at ~1.8%
• RoA to improve to ~4% by FY28.
• Asset quality resilient; stable Stage 2/3 trends despite macro headwinds.
• Sees current weakness as largely cyclical and macro-driven.

MOSL on ICICI Lombard

• Maintains Neutral rating with TP of Rs 1,700.
• Product launch cycle reduced to 4 weeks from 6 months
• Motor claims settlement down to 3.3 days from 6 days.
• Digital servicing penetration at 71%; targets 90% by FY29.
• Targets digital sourcing at 15% of sales by FY29 vs 6% currently.
• New products to contribute 3-5% of GWP by FY29.
• Large protection gap remains with ~42% of vehicles uninsured
• ~40 million individuals lacking health insurance
• Climate, cyber and surety insurance emerging as incremental growth opportunities.
• Aims to maintain over 10% combined ratio advantage over industry.
• Proposed EoM framework seen as an industry reset
• Co's scale and multi-channel presence expected to aid transition.

Kotak On SBI Funds Management  

• Initiate Buy, Fair Value Rs 600/share 
• Management has built a large franchise anchored by the SBI brand  
• Deeply integrated and profitable banking distribution network 
• Positioning it to remain a key beneficiary of India's structural mutual fund penetration story.  
• Expect SBI AMC to deliver a healthy earnings CAGR of ~15% over FY2027-29E,  
• Supported by steady AUM growth, stable margins and improving product mix. 
•  At ~30X 1Y forward PE, valuations appear reasonable 

Kotak On HDFC AMC 

• Upgrade to Buy from ADD, Fair Value Rs 2800 (From Rs 3000/share) 
• Valuations more comfortable to turn constructive on the stock 
• 15% core earnings CAGR over FY202728E, led by ~18% AUM CAGR 
• Continue to benefit from healthy long-term fund performance tailwinds, driving stable inflows 
• Needs to build credible growth drivers in alternatives to offset fee and cost pressures. 

Kotak On ABSL AMC  

• Downgrades to Reduce from Add, Fair Value Rs 1010 (From Rs 1100/share) 
• Impact of a positive view on equity is partly diluted by the fact that equity AUM contributes ~45% of MF AUM and ~35% of total AUM.  
• Believe valuations (~25X FY2028E EPS) already capture this anticipated improvement in operating metrics.

JP Morgan-India Strategy 

• The intersection of electronics manufacturing, aerospace, defense, and “Physical AI” has emerged as one of the most compelling structural themes 
• Private capex cycle also appears to be turning after nearly a decade of corporate deleveraging and hesitation. 
• Financials remain the dominant theme. 
• Companies in modern manufacturing are moving up the value chain.  
• Broadly positive narrative on demand momentum, supported by luxury/aspirational trade-up trends, convenience-led demand, and continued premiumisation.  
• SMIDs are pricier but delivering much stronger growth, with valuations supported by flows 
• Prefer mid/small-caps over large caps, and Quality/ Momentum (especially earnings momentum), while staying underweight Value.  
• FIIs-Diversification appeal is rising as Indian equities increasingly screen as an AI hedge. 
• Sector allocation: Overweight sectors are Financials, Industrials, Health Care, Materials and Consumer Discretionary   
• Underweight sector is IT. 

CLSA On IT 

• IT headcount additions remain stable despite overall weak macro  
• Healthy increase in the IT Services Jobspeak Index, headcount additions by  covered companies in 1QFY27  
• Resilient commentary around further headcount increases ahead of 2Q, implying potentially early signs of AI-led demand tailwinds.  
• BPO jobspeak index continues to increase, the rate of increase has decelerated YTD.  
• Do not yet see hiring slowing in the US or UK, although unemployment levels have remained elevated since 2022.  
• The banking sector globally (especially in the US and India) and US hyperscalers have experienced headcount pressure, potentially reflecting higher AI adoption, pandemic-era over hiring and ongoing cost discipline as related hardware spending rises. 
   

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