Stock Picks Today: Dalmia Bharat, Eternal, Tata Communications And More On Brokerages' Radar

A clutch of global and domestic brokerages has rolled out fresh views on Dalmia Bharat, Ashok Leyland, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Eternal, Tata Communications, PNB Housing Finance, KEI Industries, Indian Hotels Company and HDFC Life Insurance following a series of quarterly earnings reviews, target price revisions and rating actions, ahead of the upcoming session.

Brokerages have also shared broader commentary on cement, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, oil marketing, internet platforms, telecom services, housing finance, cables and wires, hospitality and life insurance, alongside views on defence spending trends and technical levels for the broader market.

Dalmia Bharat

Citi on Dalmia Bharat
Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 2600
Q3 EBITDA below estimates
Industry demand trends improving; room for further cost savings
Uncertainty around strategy and capacity utilisation remains
Medium-term pricing pressure in South/East likely limited
Rs 50/t cost savings achieved out of Rs 150–200/t target

HSBC on Dalmia Bharat
Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 2740
Q3 marginal earnings miss; Q4 expected to improve
EBITDA slightly below estimates, but strong YoY volume growth
Recovery in cement prices in South and East
Valuation and regional exposure key positives

Macquarie on Dalmia Bharat
Maintain Outperform with TP of Rs 2462
In-line quarter
Remain constructive on improving fundamentals
Growth projects remain on track

Ashok Leyland

Citi on Ashok Leyland
Maintain Buy; Hike TP to Rs 205 from Rs 165
MHCVs doing the heavy lifting; LCVs chipping in
MHCV volumes driven by replacement demand and improving sentiment
Sharp improvement in LCV demand surprised positively
Market share steady overall
Higher LCV contribution and commodity costs factored in
Operating leverage lifts EBITDA and earnings estimates

Dr Reddy's Laboratories

Morgan Stanley on Dr Reddy's
Maintain Equal-weight; Cut TP to Rs 1285 from Rs 1389
Resilient quarter
Strong ex-US growth led by India, EU and EMs
Solid cash flows; stable EBITDA margins
Muted earnings growth keeps rating unchanged
Key monitorables: gRevlimid phase-out, GLP-1 ramp-up, abatacept progress

Jefferies on Dr Reddy's
Maintain Underperform; Cut TP to Rs 1040 from Rs 1100
Broadly in-line quarter
India and EMs/Europe strong, aided by forex
One-off expenses lifted SG&A; adjusted EBITDA beat
Mgmt expects gOzempic launch in Canada by May-26 and abatacept US approval by Dec-26
Timelines seen as aggressive; delays remain key downside

BofA on Dr Reddy's
Maintain Buy; Cut TP to Rs 1480 from Rs 1560
Q3 strengthens confidence in base business
EBITDA beat driven by ex-Revlimid base
Semaglutide launch next key catalyst
More legs to ex-US growth
Cost trajectory key for margins

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation

Jefferies on HPCL
Maintain Underperform; Cut TP to Rs 385 from Rs 405
Dec-25 quarter missed estimates; valuation appears full
EBITDA 11% below estimates due to weaker refining
Low crude outlook supportive for marketing margins
LPG compensation to boost earnings in Q4FY26–FY27
Rajasthan refinery commissioning by early FY27 to be a drag
FY26E PAT cut by 3%

Eternal

Macquarie on Eternal
Maintain Underperform with TP of Rs 200
Blinkit optics improved with contribution margin uplift
Adjusted EBITDA at breakeven due to accounting shift
After finance costs, Blinkit remains loss-making
Management tempered near-term growth and margin outlook
Cited irrational competitive dynamics

UBS on Eternal
Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 375
Blinkit breaks even; food delivery growth improves
Strong Q3 numbers; guidance broadly constructive
Competitive intensity remains a key watch factor

Jefferies on Eternal
Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 480
Blinkit delivered positive EBITDA near peak competition
Higher AOV, mix improvement and move to 1P aided performance
Past investments paying off
Management change not expected to impact near-term execution

Tata Communications

Macquarie on Tata Communications
Maintain Outperform with TP of Rs 2210
Planned CEO transition; steady improvement in growth and margins
Data business revenue CAGR of 11% over FY25–28E reaffirmed
EBITDA margin seen expanding 400 bps to 23%
ROIC expected to rise from 12% to 20%
Seen as a marquee buy idea

PNB Housing Finance

Morgan Stanley on PNB Housing
Maintain Overweight with TP of Rs 1170
Q3 soft; miss driven by weaker outcomes across line items
Affordable housing disbursements declined YoY and QoQ
Investors may worry about downside risks to forecasts
Valuation at ~1x FY28 P/B offers margin of safety
Focus on commentary from new MD & CEO

KEI Industries

Morgan Stanley on KEI Industries
Maintain Overweight with TP of Rs 5164
Q3 PAT beat estimates by 8% driven by margins
Cables & Wires margin strong at 12%
Revenues in line; volume growth high single digits
Growth lagged Polycab and Havells due to capacity constraints

Indian Hotels Company

UBS on Indian Hotels
Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 900
Inorganic building blocks at play
Attractive acquisitions to support future earnings
Consensus EBITDA does not fully reflect acquisition upside
Sees EBITDA potential of ~Rs 120 crore from acquisitions

HDFC Life Insurance

Goldman Sachs on HDFC Life
Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 850
Core industry fundamentals resilient
GST cuts acted as a near-term catalyst
Inherent product margins improving
Growth softness largely self-chosen
Protection business growth exceptionally strong
FY27 seen as margin reset year
Regulatory changes not expected to be disruptive

Defence Sector

Jefferies on Defence
Union Budget defence capex key monitorable
Defence capex down 13% YoY in Nov-25, but up 57% YoY Apr–Nov
Defence exports at 87% of FY26 target
Top picks: HAL, followed by BEL and Data Patterns

Market / Technical View

CLSA – Laurence Balanco
Nifty threatening key support at 200-DMA (25,207)
Close below opens downside toward 24,337–24,585
Additional structural support near 23,869–23,870
HDFC Bank breakdown implies measured downside target near Rs 865

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