Stock Picks Today: ITC, Maruti Suzuki, Sun Pharma, GAIL, Dixon, Shree Cement, And More On Brokerages' Radar

Brokerage firms have highlighted investment opportunities across FMCG, auto, healthcare, NBFC and cement sectors, with updated recommendations on stocks such as ITC, Maruti Suzuki, Sun Pharma, GAIL, LIC Housing Finance, Shree Cement, Thermax, Tata Motors, Global Health, Urban Company, Aptus Value Housing Finance, Dixon Technologies, Mahanagar Gas, Pricol and Data Patterns, while maintaining a positive outlook on Indian IT services, India equity strategy and view on auto sales.

Macquarie on ITC

• Maintain Neutral; TP cut to Rs300 from Rs330
• Tax hikes still being passed through, so 1Q can't set the FY27 run-rate
• Management focus is on stemming volume migration to illicit trade
• Paper segment recovering on better supply-demand dynamics
• Catalyst watch: faster tax pass-through, sharper cigarette Ebit growth.

HSBC on ITC

• Maintains hold; TP raised to Rs320 from Rs310
• Cigarette EBIT decline driven by both volume correction and weaker realisations/mix
• Company has taken over 30 interventions to protect the portfolio without pushing volumes to illicit trade
• FMCG inflation was moderate this quarter but expected to intensify from Q2FY27
• Hold rating reflects uncertainty around further tax hikes and how the stock has historically reacted to such phases.

GS on ITC

• Maintain Neutral; Cut TP to Rs 290 from Rs 320
• Q1: Miss on account of larger than expected decline in cigarette EBIT
• Paper margins expand off a low base, FMCG had a strong quarter
• Expect a gradual pace of recovery in cigarette EBIT.

Jefferies on ITC

• Upgrade to Buy from Hold; TP at Rs 350
• Positively surprised by the volume resilience
• Miss was largely driven by gradual price hikes and series of interventions
• Encouraging volume trend should give mgmt. confidence to take further price hike

JPMorgan on ITC

• Maintain Neutral; Cut TP to Rs 310 from Rs 325
• Cigarette portfolio reset underway; Q1 drag to narrow ahead
• FMCG - Healthy growth ex-staples
• Paperboard & Packaging - Encouraging improvement
• Agribusiness - Disruptions continue to weigh on performance.

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Citi on Maruti Suzuki India

• Maintain Buy; TP cut to Rs16,500 from Rs18,500
• Margin hit partly a timing issue, not structural - supplier settlement moved from quarterly to monthly
• Means Maruti's margins should recover faster than peers once commodity costs ease
• FY27 volume growth guidance of 10% reiterated despite the miss
• Multi-powertrain push continues, seven new models planned by FY30.

BofA on Maruti Suzuki

• Reiterates Neutral; PO raised to Rs14,700 from Rs14,000
• Margin miss driven by commodity hit, new-plant costs and bonus payouts, not demand
• Accelerated supplier settlement cycle means full RM drag already in Q1, no lag into Q2
• Struggles to see a path back to 8%+ EBIT margin given limited pricing action taken so far
• Demand outlook stays strong, order backlog at 130k and lean channel stock of 13 days
• Sees upside risk to the 10% volume growth guide given capacity expansion and SUV pipeline.

Nomura on Maruti Suzuki

• Maintains Neutral; TP raised to Rs14,071 from Rs13,435
• Monthly commodity settlement cycle hit margins by 110bp this quarter, benefit to show over 2Q-3Q
• One price hike taken in June, another likely in August
• Management expects full capacity utilisation in 4-5 months
• Flags medium-term market share risk if industry EV adoption outpaces Maruti's own EV mix
• Prefers M&M and Hyundai over Maruti among 4W OEMs

CLSA on Dixon

• Maintains Underperform; TP raised to Rs10,600 from Rs10,400
• Margin decline driven by PLI expiry and higher memory prices pushing up realisations
• FY27 smartphone volume guidance held at 30-32m units, implying a tough 15% YoY growth in H2
• Growth expected to decelerate as smartphone market share peaks, new bets being scouted in precision manufacturing and servers
• PLI 2.0 linked to backward integration expected to lift margins only from FY28
• Valuation at 52x FY28CL PE seen as demanding

Nomura on Dixon Technologies India

• Maintains Buy; TP raised to Rs17,086 from Rs13,813
• EBITDA margin came in slightly below estimate even as revenue beat on strong realisations
• Vivo, Longcheer and components approvals now largely in place, improving growth visibility
• Camera module ramp-up and display manufacturing to start from 4QFY27E
• Two anchor customers could help Dixon target 15-20mn units of exports
• Margins to stay range-bound near term, full component benefit visible only in FY28E.

Macquarie on Dixon Technologies

• Maintain Outperform with TP of Rs16,000
• Margin compression explained by first quarter without PLI support, plus general input cost inflation
• ASP hikes only just covered costs, so margins compressed optically
• PLI 2.0 details expected within weeks, seen as retroactive to April and a key margin catalyst
• Laptop and server scale-up, along with Q-Tek ramp, expected to support margins ahead.

Goldman Sachs on Dixon Technologies (India)

• Sell; TP raised to Rs10,980 from Rs10,025
• Margin hit driven by first quarter without PLI and higher ASPs in smartphones
• Vivo JV approval received in July, production expected to start by Q3FY27
• MPMS scheme should boost export volumes but margin benefit unlikely to reach historical levels
• Backward integration into components seen improving margins only with a lag
• Stock trading at 57x revised FY28E EPS, risk-reward seen as unfavourable

Jefferies on LIC Housing (LICHF)

• Maintain Hold; revised PT Rs550
• Spreads on new loans running 65bps below the back book amid intense competition
• Management shifting focus to non-housing loans (LAP/LRD) to support growth
• Assignment and co-lending channels to launch from 2Q
• Valuation at 0.6x FY27e book seen as offering downside support.

Macquarie on LIC Housing Finance

• Maintain Neutral with TP of Rs600
• NIM under pressure as borrowing costs rose after three straight quarters of declines
• Management now open to moving down the credit curve for yield, raising underwriting risk
• Gratuity provision and rising tech spend added to opex pressure
• Growth remains clouded by intense competition in the segment

Morgan Stanley on Shree Cement

• Maintain Underweight with TP of Rs25,500
• Middle East conflict disrupted gypsum supply and pushed fuel mix toward costlier coal
• Management guided for cost normalisation once the region stabilises
• Limited margin expansion levers seen even after normalisation.

Jefferies on Shree Cement

• Maintain Hold with TP of Rs27,600
• Fuel mix shift from petcoke to costlier coal, plus disrupted Middle East gypsum sourcing, hit costs
• Lower-grade coal also worsened the clinker-to-cement conversion ratio
• Management expects trade mix and fuel costs to normalise from 2Q
• UAE capacity being doubled to 7mnT in FY27; Meghalaya expansion on track for 4QFY28

Macquarie on Sun Pharmaceutical

• Maintain Outperform with TP of Rs2,150
• Reported PAT dented by one-off legal, acquisition, and new labour code costs
• Margin strength credited to richer mix from branded generics and Innovative Medicines
• Organon deal remains on track for close in 4Q FY27/early CY27
• FY27 guidance held at high-single-digit revenue growth, R&D at 6-7% of sales.

Goldman Sachs on Sun Pharmaceutical

• India growth led more by volumes and new launches than pricing, five new products launched in the quarter
• Management guided for high-single-digit consolidated growth in FY27, R&D at 6-7% of sales
• Spending behind Leqselvi and Unloxcyt now to be treated as ongoing cost, not one-off launch spend
• GL0034 topline data expected H2CY27; Fibromun starting Phase 3 for soft tissue sarcoma
• No margin guidance given despite the launch spend commentary.

BofA on Sun Pharma

• Reiterates Underperform; PO raised to Rs1,915 from Rs1,720
• Revenue growth missed estimate on a 7% sequential decline in US sales and soft EM growth
• Specialty revenue has been moderating since 3QFY26 despite Ilumya momentum
• Organon's own revenue also moderating, with a 400bp+ EBITDA margin decline YoY
• Sees limited near-term catalysts, with new launch traction and Ilumya PsA approval key to watch
• Revised target values SUNP base at a lower multiple given execution risk from the deal

HSBC on Sun Pharma

• Maintains Buy; TP raised to Rs 2,120 from Rs 2,100
• Innovative medicine sales growth has slowed versus past quarters, denting the otherwise mixed quarter
• Rising payor access for Leqselvi and Unloxcyt yet to translate into higher sales, seen as key swing factor
• Organon deal approved by shareholders, expected to close in 4QFY27
• Valuation multiple raised to reflect consistency of the India business.

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Macquarie on Thermax

• Maintain Neutral; TP hiked 6% to Rs4,100 from Rs3,850
• Miss driven by cost overruns on a specific project, not the broader business
• Data centre opportunity emerging via MoU with two US vendors on cooling and power
• First hydrogen project revenue expected to start from FY28
• Earnings cut 11%/6%/5% across FY27-29E to reflect the weak quarter

Citi on GAIL

• Maintain Buy; TP hiked to Rs202 from Rs195
• Gas trading beat driven by timing gap in an oil-linked LNG contract, expected to normalise
• Also benefited from gains on open US LNG volumes
• Transmission guidance for FY27 raised to 123 mmscmd, partly helped by a summer heat-driven power demand spike that should fade
• MoU signed with RCF for a fertiliser plant, carrying assured ROE under the new urea policy.

Kotak Securities on GAIL

• Upgrade to Buy from Add; Hike TP to Rs 215 from Rs 175
• Q1FY27: Record profit amid worst disruptions
• Disruption boosted profitability across marketing, LPG/LHC and petchem, with minimal impact on transmission volumes
• Conviction on GAIL being key winner of disruption stronger.

Macquarie on GAIL (India)

• Maintain Outperform with TP of Rs205
• Gas marketing beat came from favourable price-index movement even as volumes fell
• Management flagged the marketing and LPG outperformance as timing-driven and likely to moderate
• Petchem output was curtailed on government orders redirecting gas to priority sectors
• Over half of FY27's Rs115bn capex guidance already spent in 1Q.

MS on GAIL

• Maintain Equal-weight; Hike TP to Rs 190 from Rs 152
• As Good As It Gets
• GAIL is increasingly a play on China and Europe LNG imports, before it will start to see upside from US natural gas glut in 2027
• Europe inventories at near three year lows and slower US export ramp up
• 2027 Gas glut thesis still remains in play despite supply challenges from Qatar.
   

Nomura on Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles (Iveco)

• Maintains Neutral; TP unchanged at Rs402
• Industrial margins improved sequentially but management lowered its LCV industry outlook for CY26
• Bus order intake fell even as bus revenue growth stayed healthy on strong plant utilisation
• Extraordinary dividend from the sold defence business already distributed
• Tender offer from TMCV for Iveco expected to launch early September and close by early November
• Margin targets set at acquisition look increasingly hard to achieve given the weak EU CV market

Jefferies on Data Patterns

• Maintain Buy; TP raised to Rs5,545 from Rs4,875
• Management still confident of 20-25% revenue growth and 35-40% margins in FY27E
• Drone and counter-drone business seen as a key growth driver ahead
• Export pipeline gathering momentum on manpower shortages and rapid scaling needs in Europe

Jefferies on Nuvama

• Maintain Buy; TP raised to Rs2,160 from Rs1,840
• Capital Markets business has fully recovered the Jane Street assets lost in 2QFY26
• Management sees scope for revenue to normalise a bit, but still guides 25%+ growth for FY27
• Wealth segment productivity up sharply on RM seniorisation and AI tool adoption
• New fund launches and commodity F&O access for clients among next growth levers

Jefferies on Mahanagar Gas

• Maintain Underperform; revised TP Rs1,005 (from Rs1,020)
• April-May CNG price hike of Rs5/kg fully offset the gas cost increase, driving the margin beat
• Gas prices seen staying elevated through FY27E on Middle East export damage and low EU storage
• Qatar's North Field expansion delayed to late 2027/early 2028, pushing out any LNG oversupply relief
• EV competition risk seen as lower in Mumbai than Delhi given charging infrastructure constraints.

Kotak Institutional Equities on AU Small Finance Bank

• Maintain SELL with Fair Value of Rs925
• Cost of funds gap with private banks narrowing, seen closing over 3-5 years
• Universal bank conversion expected to aid deposit mobilisation from existing branches
• Credit cards business revamped but breakeven still some way off
• Retains Sell purely on valuation, not fundamentals

Morgan Stanley on Urban Co

• Rated Underweight with TP of Rs128
• Growth beat driven by AI-led cost savings and operating leverage in core India business
• Management held outlook: core margin at 9-10% of NTV, consolidated breakeven by 3QF28
• International business hit by a soft April due to geopolitical disruption.

MS on Urban Company

• Upgrade to Overweight from Underweight; Hike TP to Rs 165 from Rs 128
• Re-rating candidate: double upgrade to Overweight
• Structural expansion in its growth rates in India consumer services ex insta and international business
• Confidence on profitability across segments improved with strong execution
• Assigning higher weight to execution (internal factor) vs competition (external factor) for insta
• Profitability targets could get achieved sooner than management guidance
• Elevated losses in Instahelp could force consolidation sooner
• ROCE to normalize at 20%+ on steady state
• Starting point of valuation has become reasonable following a large underperformance

Jefferies on Global Health (Medanta)

• Maintain Buy; TP raised to Rs1,660 from Rs1,500
• Noida losses narrowed sharply as the facility ramps, break-even now earlier than expected
• ARPOB growth aided by case-mix change and reduced average length of stay
• Acquired an 80-bed cancer hospital in Indore; Guwahati capacity raised to 650 beds after norm revision
• EBITDA estimates for FY27-29E raised 2-5% on the faster Noida turnaround

Morgan Stanley on Aptus Value Housing Finance

• Rated Overweight with TP of Rs405
• NII missed on 20bp QoQ NIM compression
• Management guided for 22-24% AUM growth in FY27
• Stressed asset creation ticked up YoY; NPA book sold down to an ARC during the quarter
• Trades at a discount to peers Aavas and Home First despite best-in-segment ROEs

Morgan Stanley on Torrent Pharmaceuticals

• Upgraded to Overweight from Equal-weight; TP raised to Rs5,623 from Rs4,580
• JB cost synergies running ahead of plan, now expected above Rs1bn
• Strong semaglutide and oral GLP-1 share make the India opportunity more tangible
• Target multiple raised to reflect superior chronic franchise and integration execution

Morgan Stanley on Mankind Pharma

• Downgraded to Equal-weight from Overweight
• Stock up ~30% since March-end, more than Nifty Pharma, largely pricing in the domestic recovery
• Further upside now needs stronger outperformance versus the broader IPM
• FY27 margin guidance held unchanged at 25.5-26.5%.

JP Morgan on Mankind Pharma

• Downgraded to Neutral from Overweight; TP cut to Rs2,700 (Sep-27) from Rs2,850 (Mar-27)
• Domestic organic growth improved to 10.6% YoY but still trails the broader IPM at 13.6%
• Field-force restructuring and softer acute growth have eroded what was once a structural premium
• Management has itself toned down guidance to just double-digit growth, a step back from outperformance
• Management deliberately holding back on GLP-1 launch given a crowded market, capping near-term upside
• Target multiple cut to a 20% discount to Torrent Pharma

Morgan Stanley - India Equity Strategy

• Coverage-wide profit growth running well ahead of analyst estimates this season
• Industrials and Utilities led the beats, while Consumer Staples lagged
• Two-thirds of covered stocks have surpassed earnings estimates so far

BofA Global Research - India IT Services

• Services shifting narrative toward token optimisation and AI ops as new revenue levers
• Pricing pressure seen persisting 1-2 years as cheaper "vibe coding" tools see wider adoption
• US midterms and a potential Anthropic listing flagged as key swing factors ahead
• Top Buy ideas unchanged: Genpact, EXL, Coforge, LTTS

Goldman Sachs on Pricol 

• Buy; TP raised to Rs870 from Rs780
• Still room to pass through 50-100bps of commodity impact to customers, most of it pending
• Fixed cost amortisation drag should ease as revenue catches up over the next couple of quarters
• Demerger of DIVCS entity aimed at attracting investment and technology partnerships
• Won more business from Honda, capacity in Polymer division now the constraint
• Capex remains heavy across Polymer, DIVCS and ACFMS verticals

MS on Muthoot Finance

• Maintain Overweight with TP of Rs 3705
• Q1: Decent; high consensus estimate makes it look worse
• NIM missed estimates though overall miss was contained due to better loan growth
• Consensus numbers were much higher, which makes the miss look worse
• Estimates should not be the right benchmark given the weak average gold prices QoQ and high one-offs in yields in FY26

HSBC on ABB India

• Maintains reduce; TP raised to Rs5,400 from Rs5,200
• Order inflow growth of 50% YoY came in well below the roughly 80% consensus had expected
• Margins continue to slide as price hikes haven't kept pace with commodity cost increases
• Two price hikes taken during the quarter should support some margin recovery ahead
• Management continues to expand capacity to keep utilisation below 85-90%, preserving room for growth
• Stock trades a full standard deviation above its 10-year average valuation.

 JPMorgan on ABB India

• Maintain Neutral; Hike TP to Rs 6751 from Rs 6568
• Weak As Margin Pressures Persist
• Strong Order Inflow But Weak Margin
• Order inflows grew 50% y/y but below elevated expectations
• EBITDA Margin: No Quick Recovery in Sigh
• Electrification: Healthy Volume Growth But Margin Was Muted.

JPMorgan on CDSL

• Maintain Underweight with TP of Rs 1200
• Q1: Modest revenue growth, but margins compress
• Franchise metrics remained resilient throughout the quarter
• Operating leverage was less visible as costs stepped up ahead of revenue

GS on Divis Lab

• Maintain Buy; Hike TP to Rs 9070 from Rs 8025
• Q1 above: Custom synthesis beats
• Revenue growth inflection led by CS with generics stabilizing
• Margin uplift on better mix/operating leverage
• Capex intensity to drive sustainability

 Citi on Divis Lab

• Maintain Buy; Hike TP to Rs 11700 from Rs 9450
• Validation Drives Strong Beat, Commercial Volumes Can Transform Earnings Trajectory
• Margins may remain elevated
• Strong commentary on peptides, contrast media and generics
• Hike earnings estimate by 8-15%; retain Divis as top India Pharma pick.

Kotak Securities on Divis Lab

• Maintain Sell; Hike TP to Rs 6925 from Rs 5850
• Moving closer to commercialization
• Strong CSM sales drive material beat in Q1; EBITDA margin at 40.7%
• Eye on commercial supplies of peptides and other projects
• Await a better entry point.

MS on Coal India

• Maintain Equal-weight with TP of Rs 420
• Calculations suggest that thermal power demand rose ~12% YoY in July-26 helped by a favorable base
• Adjusted for favorable base, Coal India volumes have lagged thermal power demand
• Inventory levels are now comfortable and we may see some restocking over the next few months
• Will monitor the thermal power demand trajectory over the next few months.

 MS on Kajaria

• Maintain Equal-weight with TP of Rs 1410
• Strong execution on tiles business and strong ramp-up at ancillary businesses drove strong EBITDA beat
• Key to watch is how tiles business evolves when Morbi normalises

MS on Leela Palace

• Maintain Overweight with TP of Rs 600
• Strong Q1; domestic luxury demand offset international softness
• Valuations are attractive given luxury portfolio and strong execution

Kotak Securities on Zee Entertainment

• Upgrade to Add from Reduce;Hike TP to Rs 130 from Rs 90
• Setting the stage for value unlocking
• Zee to issue warrants to raise promoter holding to 23.8% from 3.99%
• Core business headwinds are unlikely to recede
• Music business value unlock could be a near to medium term trigger

MS on Auto Sales

• July 2026 – Retail Growth Stays Healthy
• Underlying demand stayed healthy
• July/August wholesale should exceed retail as industry builds inventory ahead of the festive season
• Maruti and Eicher data is tracking ahead of estimates.

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