Stock Recommendations Today: Trent, IndiGo, United Spirits, Welspun Living On Brokerages' Radar

Jefferies believes Welspun Living is set to be a major beneficiary of India's prospective trade agreements with the US and EU, and initiates coverage on the counter.

Morgan Stanley is bullish on Zudio-parent Trent, highlighting its strategy of increasing store density and focusing on market share within a micro-market approach. The brokerage is also positive on InterGlobe Aviation, indicating that booking and cancellation trends are moving favorably for the airline at the moment.

NDTV Profit tracks what analysts are saying about various stocks and sectors. Here are the analyst calls to keep an eye out for on Thursday.

• Morgan Stanley maintains an 'overweight' rating on Trent with a target price of Rs 6,359.

• The brokerage highlights Trent's strategy of increasing store density and focusing on market share within a micro-market approach.

• The company's focus remains on being differentiated and relevant to its customers.

• Disposable incomes are not growing in line with consumer aspirations.

• Zudio Beauty is seen as a long-term strategic bet in Trent's playbook.

• Morgan Stanley maintains an 'overweight' rating on Indigo with a target price of Rs 6,502, indicating a 20% potential upside.

• Booking and cancellation trends are moving favorably at the moment.

• IndiGo reiterated its 2030 target of doubling capacity and 40% international mix.

• The company is focusing on premiumisation.

• The airline aims to launch "Stretch" in key international destinations such as Dubai, Singapore, Bangkok and Phuket.

• Announced an order to acquire additional 30 wide-body aircraft and new code share agreements with Delta Airlines, Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic.

• Initiates a 'buy' rating with a target price of Rs 185, indicating a 41% upside.

• Positioned to benefit from India's increasing appeal as a manufacturing hub.

• A major beneficiary of India's prospective trade agreements with the US and EU.

• Has developed future growth drivers, including a portfolio of proprietary brands.

• Possesses robust manufacturing capabilities, operating one of the world’s largest home textile facilities.

• Anticipates a muted first half of fiscal 2026 in terms of revenue and margins due to tariff-related uncertainties and lower operating leverage.

• Well-positioned for a rebound in the second half of the fiscal and thereafter.

• Expected to achieve a compound annual growth rate of 12% in Ebitda and 18% in EPS over the next two fiscals.

• Morgan Stanley maintains an 'overweight' rating with a target price of Rs 14,262, indicating a 17% potential upside.

• PV industry growth target for fiscal 2026 remains at 1%-2% on an annual basis.

• Company aims to grow faster on the back of two new launches in the large SUV space, including the e-Vitara.

• Sharp cost increases while incomes have not been catching up has driven small car segment weakness.

• Urban middle class recovery is a key to small car recovery.

• It will be India’s largest BEV manufacturer in first year of operation.

• Exports and Toyota rebadging will support scale and hence drive margins.

• Citi reiterates 'buy' on Indigo with a target price of Rs 1,800.

• Demand outlook remains challenging in the near-term.

• Premiumisation trends likely to recover in two to three quarters.

• India UK Free Trade Agreement to drive growth and premiumisation.

• Policy environment likely turning favourable.

  Innovation and renovation agenda remain key growth drivera.

• Focus on commercial strategy in the on-premise channel.

• Sustaining Ebitda margin at current levels over the next two to three years.

• Morgan Stanley has an 'equalweight' rating on Grasim with a target price of Rs 2,975.

• The company emphasised a focus on better dealer incentives rather than competing on pricing.

• Company expects the industry to grow at low single digits in fiscal 2026 as well.

• Confident of attaining their guided double-digit market share by the end of the fiscal.

• Defence and Railway Sectors

• Both sectors have experienced notable gains over the past two months following a dip in March 2025.

• The Defence sector’s market capitalisation reached an all-time high in May 2025, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 55% from fiscal 20219 to May 2025.

• The Railway sector's market cap has rebounded strongly from its lows, with a CAGR of 46% over the same period.

• Growth is driven by a robust order book and improved investor sentiment, particularly in mid- and small-cap stocks, fueling rerating trends in these sectors.

Large Caps

• Large-cap valuations remain elevated, with the Nifty-50's one-year forward price-to-earnings ratio at 21.2 times, which is about 3% above its long-term average of 20.7 times.

• Maintain 'overweight' rating with a target price of Rs 1,481, indicating a 3% upside.

• The company is on track to meet its annual guidance of 505–515 million metric tonnes cargo volume.

• Within the cargo mix, container volumes are expected to grow by 15–20%.

• Tariffs are expected to have a neutral to positive impact on the business.

• Blended logistics margin is anticipated to be around 25%.

• Maintain 'equal-weight' rating with a target price of Rs 1,700, reflecting a 5% downside.

• Expect pre-sales growth of 5% in fiscal 2026, reaching Rs 5,500 crore.

• The total launch pipeline stands at 2.7 million square feet, valued at Rs 20,000 crore, with a significant portion skewed towards the second half of the year.

• Margins are expected to remain strong, in the range of 50-55% for fiscal 2026.

• Rental income is projected to increase to Rs 3,300-3,400 crore, supported by new assets in Worli and Pokhran.

Management Meeting Takeaways

• The bank's long-term objective is to achieve a 15% return on equity.

• Achieving this ROE target will be driven by lower credit costs and improved cost-to-income ratios.

• Management acknowledges near-term headwinds impacting performance.

• The first half of the fiscal is expected to remain under pressure.

• Forecasted return on assets for the aforementioned period is 0.4%, with an improvement to 0.7% anticipated in the second half.

• Maintain 'equal-weight' rating with a target price of Rs 1,400, reflecting a 3% downside.

• The company expects to achieve a 20% compound annual growth rate in pre-sales and maintain a return on equity of 20%.

• Targets operating cash flow of Rs 7,700 crore in fiscal 2026, with approximately 70% of this cash flow to be reinvested into business development.

• Residential real estate remains more attractive than data centers in terms of valuation and profitability.

• Maintain 'buy' rating with a target price of Rs 2,185, implying a 25.6% upside.

• Placed on a 90-day Positive Catalyst Watch.

• Expected strength in retail health insurance fresh business.

• Sustained momentum in retail health insurance and improved market share in the health business are key growth drivers.

• Maintain 'hold' rating with a target price of Rs 327, implying a 3% upside.

• The company is taking appropriate measures to revive growth momentum.

• Sapphire Foods operates major quick-service restaurant brands KFC and Pizza Hut.

• The focus remains on attracting and retaining repeat customers.

• Near-term outlook is subdued, reflecting ongoing challenges.

• A recovery is expected in the second half of the fiscal.

• Maintain 'equal-weight' rating with a target price of Rs 6,155, implying a 3% upside.

• The company is confident of achieving Electronics Manufacturing Services revenue of Rs 4,500 crore in fiscal 2026, with an expected 100 basis points expansion in margins.

• The Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test business is projected to deliver Ebitda margins between 20-22%.

• Kaynes is pursuing backward integration by aiming to manufacture raw materials for bare Printed Circuit Boards in-house.

• Initiates coverage with a target price of Rs 3,000.

• Among the top 3 players in the Pre-Engineered Building industry.

• Acts as a proxy play on manufacturing and infrastructure developments in India.

• Maintains long-standing client relationships, with 80% of orders being repeat business.

• Consistently wins large orders driven by cost competitiveness and industry-leading margins.

• Rising penetration of PEB solutions and a strategic tie-up with JSPL for heavy structures support sustained order inflows.

• Estimated revenue CAGR of 17% and profit after tax CAGR of 21% over next two fiscals.

• The semiconductor ecosystem in India is gaining momentum.

• Total investments in the Indian semiconductor sector have reached $19 billion.

• Incentives worth $2.7 billion were introduced for component manufacturing in April 2025.

• Indian firms have a substantial and broad-based opportunity in the electronics sector.

• Has a 'sell' rating with a target price of Rs 3,615, implying a 24.5% downside.

• Placed on a 90-day downside catalyst watch.

• Expect a sluggish yield trajectory due to reversal of previous benefits.

• Performance challenges raise concerns about the ability to increase market share.

• Higher expense ratios and slower net inflows could negatively impact investor sentiment.

• March quarter results for auto companies largely exceeded Citi’s expectations.

• Among covered companies, 7 out of 10 OEMs and 5 out of 8 auto part manufacturers reported higher Ebitda than estimated.

• For fiscal 2026, volume growth guidance is low single-digit for two-wheelers and mid-to-high single-digit for passenger vehicles.

• The global demand outlook for auto part makers remains cautious due to geopolitical uncertainties and tariffs.

• Citi’s preferred OEMs are Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Hyundai.

• Endurance Technologies is the top pick in the auto parts segment.

• The monsoon arrived eight days earlier than usual and rainfall so far is 266% above normal levels.

• There is no significant decline observed in key crop arrivals, except for rice.

• Food price data shows no substantial change despite the early and heavy rains.

• Historically, in five out of the last 25 years when the monsoon onset was early, the full season rainfall ended up being deficient.

• In four of those 5 years, food inflation actually increased despite the early monsoon.

• Therefore, it is too early to be confident or comfortable about the monsoon’s positive impact on agriculture and inflation.

• Defence spending has reduced from 2000s peak of 2.9% of GDP to 1.9%.

• No immediate increase in defence budget since order execution takes time.

• Citi is tracking diversion of capex, growth multiplier from better domestic and export opportunity, second order impacts, and a stable spend environment.

• Expects the first quarter of fiscal 2026 to be a "mixed bag".

Ferrous

• Positive outlook for the first quarter with continued regulatory support.

• Any bump up in imports may rule in possibility of safeguard duties being increased to 24%.

• JSL is the preferred ferrous proxy.

• Seeing elevated inventory and lower payable days.

Non-Ferrous Sector

• The brokerage has a mixed outlook.

• Bullish on Vedanta owing to triggers like payout, demerger etc.

• Hindalco to face issues on account of LME scrap spread and impact of tariffs on Novelis.

• Vigilance over Guinea's bauxite licensing framework.

Target Price Updates

• Hindalco: Hold, Rs 730

• Hindustan Zinc: Sell, Rs 400

• Jindal Stainless: Buy, Rs 730

• Jindal Steel & Power: Hold, Rs 780

• JSW Steel: Buy, Rs 1100

• NMDC Ltd: Hold, Rs 70

• SAIL: Hold, Rs 135

• Tata Steel: Hold, Rs 145

• Vedanta: Buy, Rs 500

• Maintain 'overweight' with a target price of Rs 533.

• Management reiterated guidance of 15-20% top-line growth for 2025.

• IGI's endeavor remains to deliver 20% volume growth over the next three to five years.

• Profit after tax margins to improve on an annual basis versus those of this calender year, and be in the 57-64% range.

• On acquisitions, management is exploring opportunities, as there are many niche players that cannot compete globally.

• The company is ramping up its capabilities and has hired 130 new gemologists to handle more volume.