Stock Picks Today: Nykaa, HDFC Bank, Avenues Supermarts, Lupin, Varun Beverages On Brokerages' Radar

Fsn E-Commerce Ventures Ltd. (Nykaa), Lupin Ltd., Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Bank Of Baroda Ltd., and Avenue Supermarts 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. Here are the key analyst calls to watch out for today:

Morgan Stanley

• Maintain overweight with target price of Rs 225

• Q2: Beauty strength continues, Fashion revenue growth improves to 20+%

• GMV growth was aided by consistence performance in Beauty and renewed growth in Fashion

• BPC – in line with estimates; Fashion – better than estimates

Nomura

• Maintain buy with target price of Rs 2,350

• Pithampur Unit-2 classified as OAI is a negative surprise

• The financial impact appears limited

Citi

• Maintain buy with target price of Rs 2,525

• Robust advances growth; Deposits too maintained strong pace

• Believe MFI stress peaked in Q1, with subsequent incremental stress and credit costs expected to ease

• Personal Loan credit cost trajectory is improving

• Credit card net losses should decline from Q3

• Retail CV stabilisation is expected to take a couple more quarters

Morgan Stanley

• Maintain overweight with target price of Rs 2,600

• Strong loan growth at 15% YoY

• Deposit growth on an average basis was strong at 3.7% quarter-on-quarter

• Focus on average balance sheet growth where available

Morgan Stanley

• Maintain overweight with target price of Rs 1,000

• Strong balance sheet growth

• Deposit growth normalised to 20.8% year-on-year

Citi

• Maintain buy with target price of Rs 310

• Advances Surged 6% quarter-on-quarter surpassing Citi estimates

• Domestic LDR stable

• Anticipate a further 7-8 bps NIM pressure on core NIMs

• Reported NIMs may benefit from interest on IT refunds

• Estimate BOB will report ~1% RoA, bolstered by IT refunds, w/off recoveries, and dividend income

Morgan Stanley

• Maintain underweight with target price of Rs 235

• Strong sequential growth

Citi

• Maintain buy with target price of Rs 1,180

• Advances surged 4.4% QoQ hitting industry average

• Deposits growth modest & LDRs expand 280bps

• Focus on NIMs continues

Morgan Stanley

• Maintain overweight with target price of Rs 1,225

• Steady average balance sheet growth

• Average CASA deposit growth accelerated to 8.5% YoY vs. 6.1% YoY last quarter

Bernstein

• Maintain outperform with target price of Rs 1,150

• Stronger loan growth and weaker deposit growth

• Improvement in loan growth is a clear positive - especially in a growth-starved environment

• Weaker headline deposit growth could help margins this quarter

• But also implies no acceleration in the LDR normalization trajectory

Citi

• Maintain sell with target price of Rs 765

• Advances and deposits contract 2% QoQ

• Retail deposits steady

• Core fees should gain some QoQ momentum

• Opex stable QoQ and further cost containment anticipated in H2

Morgan Stanley

• Maintain equal-weight with target price of Rs 785

• Q2: weak quarter

• Expect gradual earnings recovery post Q2

• Remain equal-weight due to fair valuations

Citi

• Maintain sell with target price of Rs 3,300

• Q2 Update: Miss on revenue growth, margins risk ahead

• Believe throughput continues to be impacted by competitive intensity from quick commerce, weak demand environment, and store additions in smaller towns

• Avenue Supermarts has reported YoY Ebitda margin decline in 11 out of last 12 qtrs

BofA

• Maintain underperform with target price of Rs 3,925

• Q2 trading update disappoints – growth moderation continues

• Underwhelming growth despite the low base

• Standalone revenue growth of 15% YoY, missing expectations of 20%

JP Morgan

• Maintain neutral with target price of Rs 4,350

• Q2 revenue growth moderation to +15% to weigh on near-term stock performance

• Given the underwhelming revenue growth, expect recent share price underperformance to remain

• Next catalyst for the stock will be the Q2 earnings print, where more colour on top-line drivers and margins will be key to monitor

Goldman Sachs

• Maintain sell; Cut target price to Rs 3,370 from Rs 3,450

• Weaker than expected sales growth despite low base and early festive

• No meaningful acceleration in store growth yet

• Do not believe Avenue is a beneficiary of the recent GST rates rationalisation

Macquarie

• Maintain underperform with target price of Rs 3,100

• Pre-Q2 update below estimates on sales growth, store additions

• Believe SSS growth saw no material pickup from Q1 levels

• See steady improvement in Ebitda margin trajectory

• Expect decline to reduce to 40bps from 80bps decrease seen in Q1 as drag from new store additions moderates

Morgan Stanley

• Maintain underweight with target price of Rs 175

• Gross loan growth accelerated to 14.0% YoY vs. 9.3% YoY last quarter

Jefferies

• Initiate buy with target price of Rs 170

• From regional player to building pan-India scale

• Late entrant in cement space, among fastest growing in past decade

• Co leverages JSW group synergies for RM, power, logistics, brand

• Positioned for profitable scale-up

• Estimate Ebitda/volume CAGR of 35%/17% over FY25-28

HSBC

• Maintain buy with target price of Rs 640

• PepsiCo could open strategic options

• Q3 volumes uneventful but strategic industry currents may help

• Activist pressure on PepsiCo to reform its franchise model can benefit

• India’s GST rate cut is marginally positive

• Changing competitive landscape is positive for industry growth

JP Morgan

• Maintain overweight with target price of Rs 890

• No alarm bells ringing; fundamentals intact

• EPS upgrades coming through now, likely to continue

• Average room reent have grown ~7% YoY FY26TD (Apr-Aug) with stable occupancy rates

• Valuations turning more compelling

• See current price levels as an attractive entry point

• Positives – robust earnings trajectory, margin improvement, portfolio expansion and revenue diversification

Goldman Sachs

• Maintain buy with target price of Rs 830

• Strong growth despite GST transition headwinds

• Foods and premium personal care continue high growth, VAHO accelerates further

• Earnings growth to accelerate over FY25-28

CLSA

• Maintain underperform with target price of Rs 490

• Margin pressure rising

• Q2 update reveals price driven sales but margin pressure

• See modest operating profit growth, significantly below expectation

• See input cost led gross margin contraction and sustained A&P spends

HSBC

• Maintain buy with target price of Rs 870

• Volume growth sustains despite GST disruption

• Q2FY26 saw volume growth; consol revenues grew 30% YoY Vs HSBC estimate 24% – underlying trends also remain healthy

• Cost inflation would dilute gross margins as we expected and operating profit growth would be moderate

JP Morgan

• Maintain overweight; Cut target price to Rs 330 from Rs 335

• Growth trailed forecasts; Asset quality held up better

• Improving visibility on RoA expansion remains key for upward re-rating

• Continue to believe it remains best positioned with significant exposure to segments which should see the benefit of GST cuts

Macquarie

• Maintain outperform with target price of Rs 1,760

• Pre-Q2: Sequential volume uptick

• September month volumes also offer significant respite to concerns around trade disruptions

• Optimistic on long-term prospects supported by its diversification efforts, execution track record, and expansion plans supported by cash flow

• Valuation looks reasonable