Stock Picks Today: Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, L&T, Paytm, SBI Life, And More On Brokerages' Radar

Brokerages have highlighted opportunities across automobiles, two-wheelers, EPC, pharma, metals, NBFC, fintech, insurance, housing finance, defence psu and sector issuing fresh calls on Maruti Suzuki India, Bajaj Auto, Cipla, Larsen and Toubro, Mankind Pharma, Hindustan Copper, Paytm, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Max Financial, Tata Captial, SBI Life Insuance, AWL Agri Business, IndiaMart InterMesh, Home First Finance while also sharing their outlook on brokers, asset managers and exchanges.

Citi on Bajaj Auto

• Maintain Sell; Hike TP to Rs 10100 from Rs 10000
• Q2 Results Above Estimates, Driven by Better Gross Margin
• Cost Pressures Remain Elevated
• Demand outlook positive, but commodity cost pressures persist
• New launch commentary encouraging
• EV business is seeing strong traction.

Jefferies on Bajaj Auto

• Maintain Hold with TP of Rs 11500
• Delivering Well Despite Cost Pressures
• Q2 growth led by better realizations
• 2W demand momentum remains strong in both India and export markets
• Bajaj is doing well in EVs and has regained some share in exports
• Domestic motorcycle market share has been under pressure
• Plans to launch two new brands in 125-250cc bikes in FY27
• Stock is trading at a reasonable valuation.

GS on Bajaj Auto

• Maintain Buy; Hike TP to Rs 12900 from Rs 12000
• Q2 beat: Improving revenue mix + 2 model launches ahead
• Hike EPS estimates to factor in beat and better flow through from more profitable non vehicle revenue/improving export mix

Kotak Neo on Maruti Suzuki

• Maintain Add; Cut TP to Rs 13000 from Rs 14600
• Demand momentum intact; margin recovery to be gradual
• Expect Maruti Suzuki's market share to improve, led by strong order backlog
• Cut FY27-29 EBITDA estimates by 5-9%.

Citi on Maruti Suzuki

• Maintain Buy; Hike TP to Rs 14500 from Rs 13800
• Q2 Operating Profit Above Estimate
• Boosted By Better Gross Margin But Lower Other Income Mars PAT
• Demand Outlook Robust
• Margin trends are commendable
• Strong demand outlook notwithstanding, elevated commodity costs may continue to pressure margins.

Jefferies on Maruti  Suzuki

• Maintain Buy; Cut TP to Rs 13500 from Rs 16500
• Weak Q2 and Another Earnings Cut
• Retain Buy but keep it lower in pecking order after TVS, Eicher & M&M
• Industry registration growth has come off in recent weeks
• Maruti was sanguine and expects 10% domestic growth in H2
• Margin outlook remains clouded, although market share is showing some stabilization.

GS on Maruti Suzuki

• Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 14600
• Q2 in-line: Expect +10% 2H domestic volume growth
• Margin equation volatile
• Maruti not looking to make short-term decisions on pricing
• Would like to take a longer-term view of how it can support structurally faster India car demand growth
• Management expects to launch a new EV at the Bharat Mobility show in February 2027

Jefferies on L&T

• Maintain Buy; Cut TP to Rs 4700 from Rs 5000
• Outperformance should continue
• Q2 EBITDA was 5% lower than expectations
• 22% YoY rise in H1FY27 order flow is tracking ahead of L&T's annual 10-12% YoY guidance
• Management maintained its FY27E E&C margin and 10-12% YoY revenue growth guidance
• Outperformance should continue given strong order book and execution.

Citi on L&T

• Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 4650
• Q2 Results: Execution and Cash Flow Strength Ahead of Expectations
• Orders Strong as Expected
• Management reiterated FY27 guidance for revenue/orders (+10-12%), core margins (7.8%)
• Mgmt indicated that working capital should outperform the initial 10% guidance.

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Citi on Cipla

• Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 1700
• Steady Q2, US Ramp Up Key to Margin Upside
• Margin improvement likely to sustain
• Decent performance across segments
• Cut FY27E/FY28E EPS estimates by 9%/3%, reflecting lower US sales and a higher tax rate.

UBS on Cipla

• Maintain Neutral with TP of Rs 1400
• Modest Q2; H2 ramp-up remains the key
• US execution key to H2; India remains robust
• See better visibility for medium-term growth supported by the respiratory and peptide pipeline and continued strength in India.

Jefferies on Cipla

• Upgrade to Hold from Underperform; Hike TP to Rs 1270 from Rs 1170
• Q2 miss but valuations limit downside
• Retained $250m quarterly US sales target by Q4 and 18.5–20% FY27 EBITDA margin guidance
• Though we see the US target as challenging
• See biosimilars and complex products building future growth optionality.

Kotak Neo on Cipla

• Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 1675
• Sticks to its US guidance
• Lower R&D drives EBITDA beat; steady progress in US sales
• Building in a buffer, we factor in US$233 mn of US sales in Q4
• One of top picks.

Kotak Neo on Mazagon Dock

• Maintain Sell; Cut TP to Rs 1660 from Rs 1900
• Weak execution; timely award of P75i order remains key
• Q2 results: Weak execution, provisions weigh on earnings
• Order pipeline remains robust.

GS on Mazagon Dock

• Maintain Sell with TP of Rs 1855
• Q2FY27 Results Review:Earnings decline sets in; Order inflow awaited
• Believe that the stock performance is likely to stay subdued.

HSBC on Mazagon Dock

• Maintain Reduce; Cut TP to Rs 1680 from Rs 1860
• Large earnings miss
• Continue to build in order receipt of the P75i submarine in FY27, but impact on revenues could be two to three years away
• Submarine order would be sentiment-positive; expect weak earnings in FY27-29.

Citi on Tata Capital

• Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 450
• Stable Returns - Growth, Credit Cost & Opex Tailwind Offset NIM Drag
• Transitory NIM Compression; Balance Sheet Structuring and PLR Hikes to Anchor Recovery
• Robust Portfolio Expansion Led by SME and Housing; Motor Finance Run-off Moderating
• Resilient Asset Quality with Stable Stage 3 Assets and negligible vulnerability to rural drought stress
• Operating Leverage Accreting from AI Adoption; Proactive Navigation of Regulatory Edicts.
   

Jefferies on Mankind Pharma

• Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 2900
• Analyst Day takeaways
• India focus remains on raising chronic share through new specialty divisions/products and scaling large brands
• Consumer growth to stay tepid near term amid leadership transition
• Medium-to-near term priorities include wellness, new-age channels, and Rx-to-OTC switches
• ACTx is a strategic bet on a transformative oncology platform, backed by a team with a proven cell & gene therapy track record

Jefferies on AWL Agri

• Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 260
• Foods Momentum Strong; Risk-Reward Attractive
• Food & FMCG remains the key growth engine
• Expect edible oils to benefit from lower duties and festive demand
• Portfolio and distribution expansion should sustain Food & FMCG growth.

Jefferies on SBI Life

• Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 2500
• Q2 Results: In Line
• Growth to Accelerate in H2
• VNB margin of 29% led by a favorable mix
• FY27 premium growth guidance, implying an acceleration in H2
• See FY29 VNB margin of 28.7%, above 26-28% target, as ULIP mix falls
• Stock has derated due to regulatory risks, see SBI Life as least exposed, with new opportunities emerging

Jefferies on Paytm

• Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 2150
• Q2 Franchise Stays Strong & Part of 25% Cagr Club
• Monthly Transacting User addition was high at 5 million
• Mgmt pruned unprofitable GMV; staff added to aid growth
• Stays among top picks.

BofA on Paytm

• Maintain Neutral; Cut TP to Rs 1850 from Rs 1900
• Business momentum steady with multiple levers in place
• Expect an indicative 2.5bps improvement in payments processing margin
• This translates to Rs 900 cr incremental EBITDA for FY28
• Management said that their indicative amount excludes any possible platform fees on the issuing or acquiring side. 

Nomura on Paytm

• Maintain Buy; Hike TP to Rs 2300 from Rs 2250
• Management's anticipated profit from MDR on UPI higher than estimates
• Distribution of financial services business showing strong momentum
• Walking away from lower-quality GMV

Nomura on Indiamart Intermesh

• Upgrade to Neutral from Reduce; Hike TP to Rs 1840 from Rs 1810
• Q2: Subscriber addition remains muted
• Upgrade to Neutral on valuations
• Paying subscriber addition woes continue – minor reduction continued in Q2
• Product evolution critical to improve subscriber addition in medium to long term.

HSBC on Max Financial

• Maintain Buy with TP of Rs 1900
• Q2: In-line earnings
• VNB grew 15% YoY as margins expanded 150 bps
• APE was in line while there was a marginal beat to VNB.

Bernstein on Home First

• Maintain Outperform with TP of Rs 1450
• A perfect quarter
• Disbursement momentum strengthens further
• Asset quality improves, with early delinquencies contained
• Cost discipline supports 29% earnings growth; RoA holds at 4.2%

Jefferies on Brokers, Asset Manangers and Exchanges

• GOI Clarification Reduces GST Burden On FPIs
• 26th Oct Ministry of Finance circular clarified that brokerage paid by overseas clients, including FPIs, NRIs, and OCIs, from repatriable INR accounts will qualify as exports
• Hence, not attracting GST, potentially reducing the cost of investing
• This comes at a time when tax cuts for investors are being discussed
• Tax break led cash turnover rise could be a positive for brokers/depositories, with lower earnings impact for exchanges.

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Citi on Hindustan Copper

• Initiate Sell with TP of Rs 365
• Valuations Testing their Mettle
• Neutral copper outlook: weak consumption, escalation in US-Iran tensions, rate hike worries
• Likely pricing in spot LME and 100% success in ramp-up plans
• Looks well-placed to deliver volume growth with plans to expand mining from 4 MT to 12 MT by FY30
• Kendadih and Rakha mines are resuming production after two decades of closures
• Leases are valid until 2040-43, and it is a net-cash company
• Coal India is top sector pick

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the investment advisers on NDTV Profit are of their own and not of NDTV Profit. NDTV Profit advises users to consult with their own financial or investment adviser before taking any investment decision.

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