Stock Recommendations Today: IT, HDFC Life, Hindustan Zinc On Brokerages' Radar
Here are the analyst calls to keep an eye out for on Thursday.

Citi believes the Indian IT sector's demand could face a double blow after full effects of tariffs comes in. The brokerage has a sell call on Hindustan Zinc amid current valuations and a subdued zinc outlook.
HDFC Life Insurance Co.'s management expects moderate growth in the first half of the financial year 2026 followed by a pickup in the second half.
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:
Citi On IT Services
Global economy has been holding up fine for Indian IT.
Demand could face a double blow after full effects of tariffs comes in.
US cloud service giants are growing from AI services.
AI growth not a positive sign for IT services growth.
Indian IT management commentary:
Discretionary spend continues to be weak.
Strong pipeline continues.
Mid caps sees a comfortable growth.
Continue to prefer Infosys, HCLTech and Mphasis.
Goldman Sachs On HDFC Life Insurance Co
Management expects moderate growth in the first half of the financial year 2026 followed by a pickup in the second half.
Growth is anticipated to outperform the overall industry.
The impact of "surrender value" regulations has been largely mitigated.
Pricing discipline is expected to support profitability.
Lower interest rates are likely to aid demand for non-participating products.
The company is regularly repricing products to reflect falling yields.
Citi On Hindustan Zinc
Citi maintains a 'sell' rating on Hindustan Zinc with a target price of Rs 400, reflecting a 25% downside.
The company announced its first interim dividend of Rs 10 per share for the financial year 2026.
Citi incorporates an estimated dividend of Rs 15 per share for the financial year 2026.
The sell rating is maintained amid current valuations and a subdued zinc outlook.
Zinc is expected to be in surplus in calendar year 2025, while the silver outlook remains more resilient.
Citi estimates that every 10% change in silver price impacts Ebitda by 3.6%.
Every $100 per tonne change in zinc-lead London Metal Exchange prices is estimated to impact Ebitda by 5%.
Key upside risks include higher silver, zinc, and lead prices, higher volumes, and rupee depreciation.
HSBC On Asset Managers
Systematic investment plan flows are holding up, while lumpsum flows remain weak.
Valuations for asset management companies are now close to the peak of the last cycle.
The outlook for assets under management growth is muted.
Earnings are expected to grow at a slower rate.
HSBC remains cautious on the sector despite structural growth opportunities.
Morgan Stanley On Life Insurers
Individual new sum assured growth stronger than individual APE for most large players.
SBI Life delivered strong 68% annual growth in May due to sustained new retail protection products.
ICICI Prudential Life and HDFC Life's individual new sum assured growth was at 19% and 14% respectively, on an annual basis.
CLSA On Tata Communications
CLSA maintains an Outperform rating on Tata Communications with a target price of Rs. 2,100, implying a 21% upside.
Management targets data revenue of Rs. 28,000 crore and Ebitda margins of 23-25% by financial year 2028.
The data business currently forms 84% of consolidated revenue.
Data business margin was 18.5% in the financial year 2025.
Management guided for an Ebitda compound annual growth rate of 18% by financial year 2028.
The company is expected to see sizable market expansion opportunities led by digital platforms and services.
Citi On Economy
Impact of policy stimulus on demand is expected to materialise in the second half of financial year 2026.
Share of services in total consumption has increased to 51.7%, up from 47% 10 years ago.
Services account for 60% of incremental consumption growth.
Durable goods have been growing faster than services.
The stimulus may lead to larger growth in the services sector.
Demand for durable goods could pick up pace as a result of the stimulus.
Morgan Stanley On Equity Strategy
The Morgan Stanley MNC Sentiment Index for India rose to a two-year high and continued to gap higher versus China, marking the 14th consecutive quarter of outperformance against China.
High MNC sentiment bodes well for India’s capital expenditure cycle, balance of payments, corporate profits, and share prices.
Strong sentiment is likely to result in higher investments and profits.
The MNC Sentiment Index has a strong association with foreign portfolio investor profits and the direction of share prices.
Citi On Consumption
Near-term outlook for India’s consumer sector remains challenging.
Monitor for any recovery in financial year 2026.
Expect urban consumption recovery starting from the second half of the fiscal.
Maintain a positive outlook on rural consumption demand.
Companies are likely to reinvest benefits from raw material cost softening to prioritise volume growth and market share gains.
Increased competitive intensity is expected across the sector.
Preferred food and beverage top picks: Britannia, United Spirits, and Varun Beverages.
Preferred home and personal care top pick: Godrej Consumer Products.
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Investec On Max Financial Services
Maintained 'buy' with a price target of Rs 1,750, indicating 14.9% upside potential.
Appointment of Sumit Madan as managing director and chief executive officer could be a positive development.
The appointment eliminates overhang of management uncertainty.
On Property
Jefferies
Jefferies expects fiscal 2026 sales growth in India’s property sector to accelerate to 22%, driven by a strong launch pipeline.
Good launch activity is seen across major developers, including Godrej Properties, Sobha, and Lodha.
Rate cuts are viewed as a relief for mid and affordable-segment housing, supporting demand.
Interest rate cuts have a positive correlation with developer valuations.
Despite the recent rally, property stocks are trading in line with their five-year net asset value premiums.
Preferred picks are DLF, Godrej Properties, and Lodha.
Morgan Stanley
The BSE Realty Index has risen 20% in the past month, reflecting improved liquidity and investor sentiment in the property sector.
Recent rate cuts translate into lower loan EMIs, directly improving housing affordability for buyers.
Morgan Stanley expects new entrants in the market, particularly upgrading from lower segments to medium and premium residential segments.
Developers remain confident about residential market volume growth and positive price outlook.
Investor interest in mid-cap developers and real estate investment trusts has grown notably.
Rate cuts in the current cycle have historically resulted in sector outperformance, especially for developers with better balance sheets and fewer uncertainties.
Jefferies On Max Healthcare
Rated 'buy' with target price of Rs 1,400, indicating an upside potential of 18%.
Beginning a new phase of aggressive capacity addition to increase its bed count by 75%.
Plan to grow from 5,100 beds currently to 9,000 beds over next 3-4 years.
Majority of new beds will come from brownfield expansions, ensuring faster break-even.
Intends to remain acquisitive, leveraging its strong execution track record.
Newly acquired units in Lucknow, Noida, and Nagpur have significant room for growth in sales and margins.
Expects over 20% Ebida growth in the next two years.
Citi On Britannia
Citi rates Britannia as 'buy' with a target price of Rs 5,645, seeing upside risk to earnings per share and valuation multiples.
The company shows an improving market share trajectory and potential for margin expansion.
Britannia has already taken price corrective measures and is now at competitive pricing.
The company is expected to drive market share gains in the near term.
Potential margin expansion is anticipated, led by commodity cost correction.
Citi estimates an acceleration in growth with 11% revenue growth and 16% recurring EPS growth in FY26.
Investec On Afcons Infrastructure
Investec maintained a 'buy' rating on Afcons Infrastructure with a target price of Rs 585, implying a 31% upside.
Management reiterated its FY26 guidance of 20-25% revenue growth, adjusted Ebitda margins above 11%, and order inflows between Rs 20,000 crore and Rs 25,000 crore.
Revenue guidance is contingent on successfully executing recently won L1 orders in the first half of the fiscal.
Working capital is expected to largely normalise in financial year 2026.
Expansion into the Middle East and Eastern Europe regions is seen as providing exciting growth opportunities.
Macquarie On United Spirits
Macquarie maintained an 'underperform' rating on United Spirits with a price target of Rs 1,250, implying a 21% downside.
Sharp price hikes are expected to impact consumption negatively as users may lower their consumption or consider alternatives.
Historically, sharp price increases have negatively affected volumes and tax collections.
Maharashtra accounts for approximately 15% of United Spirits’ sales.
Assuming a 30% volume impact due to price hikes, this implies an estimated 5% hit to overall sales.
Goldman Sachs On Varun Beverages
Goldman Sachs notes that the April-June quarter accounts for 40% of Varun Beverages’ standalone revenue.
Non-seasonal rains in May caused an adverse impact on sales of summer products during this quarter.
Goldman Sachs expects Varun Beverages, Dabur, and Tata Consumer Products to register lower sales growth in beverages for this period.
The April-June quarter is expected to see a one-off weather-related impact on sales.
Competitive intensity has remained unchanged over the last 3-4 quarters.
Citi On HCL Technologies
Citi maintained a 'neutral' rating on HCL Technologies with a target price of Rs 1,510.
Discretionary spending remains subdued overall.
Business segments like BFSI, telecom, and technology are performing better for the company.
Consumer and manufacturing sectors are facing headwinds.
Margins are likely to remain stable in the near term.
The company continues to execute well despite a challenging environment.
First quarter performance is expected to be in line with past results.
Citi continues to prefer HCL Technologies along with Infosys over other large-cap Indian IT companies.