Stock Recommendations Today: Varun Beverages, Vishal Mega Mart, Vedanta On Brokerages' Radar

Varun Beverages Ltd., Vishal Mega Mart Ltd., and Vedanta Ltd. were among the key stocks in focus in Friday's brokerage notes.

Brokerages maintain a buy call on Varun Beverages on the back of the company's healthy first quarter performance but slash their target prices on the counter, while Ajanta Pharma saw a hike in the same as fiscal 2026 guidance points towards robust growth.

Vishal Mega Mart drew bullish calls on its strong performance end of year, while brokerages expect Vedanta's final quarter metrics to largely remain in line.

NDTV Profit tracks what analysts are saying about various stocks and sectors. Here are the key brokerage calls to watch on Friday.

On Varun Beverages

Jefferies

• Maintain a 'buy' call with a cut in target price to Rs 650 from Rs 700.

• Strong double-digit volume growth in India with margin expansion should allay investor concerns around Reliance's Campa

• Management remains unfazed with the rise in competition.

• Views competition as a tool for market expansion

• International performance was mixed.

• All eyes are on the upcoming season in India.

BofA

• Maintain 'buy' with a cut in target price to Rs 600 from Rs 630.

• India volumes surprise positively with overall Q1 largely in line

• Management is confident in sustaining a double-digit volume growth trajectory with stable margins.

JPMorgan

• Maintain 'overweight' with a cut in target pricing to Rs 625 from Rs 650

• Confident narrative on sustaining double digit volume growth with limited margin impact.

• Q2 volume remains a key catalyst ahead

• South Africa does well in the overseas market, while Morocco & Zimbabwe recovery remains key to monitor.

Jefferies On Indian Oil Corp

• Maintain 'buy' with a hike in target price to Rs 160 from Rs 150.

• Ebitda beat of 81% driven by refining with GRM at a large premium to the benchmark on inventory gains

• With crude down $10 in April, inventory losses are likely in Q1.

• Government didn't compensate LPG losses in fiscal 2025.

• Refining profitability has weakened, and marketing margins have expanded sharply.

• Raised fiscal 2026 and 2027 Ebitda to 15% and 17%, respectively.

Jefferies On Ajanta Pharma

• Maintain 'buy' with a hike in target price to Rs 3,140 from Rs 2,850.

• In-line Q4 for Ajanta and strong outlook for fiscal 2026

• Ebitda margin came short of expectations due to growth-orientated investments.

• India continued to outperform IPM with 13% annual growth.

• Fiscal 2026 guidance pointed to robust growth, with branded generics sales growth in the low teens and US growth in the mid to high teens.

On Vishal Mega Mart

JPMorgan

• Maintain 'overweight' with a hike in target price to Rs 133 from Rs 125.

• Good value retail play offering strong growth.

• Multiple levers for healthy same stores sales growth

• Long runway for store expansion, with the company scaling up hyperlocal play.

• Modest operating margin expansion ahead

Jefferies

• Maintain 'buy' with a hike in target price to Rs 142 from Rs 125.

• Strong end to year raises optimism for fiscal 2026

• Reported an acceleration in SSSG in the final quarter, which remains a key positive

• Operating leverage benefits will be ploughed back into growth, a sound strategy

Morgan Stanley On NMDC

• Price hike was surprising as the brokerage was expecting some moderation in prices.

• This announcement is opportunistic on the back of increased domestic steel prices recently.

• Don't rule out some moderation as we get into the seasonally weak monsoon season next month.

BofA On Bandhan Bank

• Maintain 'buy' with a target price of Rs 195.

• Gradual MFI normalisation continues in Q4, with growth set to rebound in fiscal 2026.

• Hits: loan growth run runrate improves, better asset quality trends

• Misses: NIM pressure continues

UBS

• Maintain 'neutral' call with a target price of Rs 165.

• Q4 profit was a miss driven by weakness across core metrics.

• Management targets steady state return on assets of 1.8%-1.9% in the medium term.

• Believe NIMs should continue to moderate as the bank remains cautious on MFI disbursements.

• Believe the risk reward is balanced

Nomura On Sona BLW Precision Forgings

• Maintain 'buy' but cut target price to Rs 552 from Rs 636.

• Q4 metrics remain in line, adjusted for PLI.

• Near-term weakness but strong new order wins

• Risks from tariff uncertainty in the US makes near-term revenues less predictable.

Nomura On Five Star

• Maintain 'buy' but cut target price to Rs 780 from Rs 800.

• Growth moderates but credit costs remain elevated.

• Reported margins improve on a quarterly basis; cost ratios drive up.

• Asset quality deteriorates; disbursement growth picks up.

Citi On ONGC

• Downgrade to 'sell' from 'neutral', cut target price to Rs 215 from Rs 250.

• Citi's base case Brent forecast is $63–65 over fiscal 2026.

• ONGC's earnings are now highly sensitive to oil prices.

• $5 per barrel decline in oil prices below could impact EPS by 17%.

• Combined with the delay in KG gas production ramping up, risk/reward unfavourable

On Federal Bank

JPMorgan

• Maintain 'overweight' with a target price of Rs 215.

• Too many gears shifting, PPoP miss to lead to weakness

• See core profits staying rangebound, leading to a partial reversal of the stock from year-to-date lows.

• Bank is in a phase of expanding its branch network, so operating costs will remain high. 

UBS

• Maintain 'buy' with a target price of Rs 235.

• Q4 PAT beat supported by one off corporate recoveries, but see a miss on core PPOP.

• Deposit growth outpaces loan growth QoQ; LDR down 370 basis points

• Management reiterated focus on mid yield loan segments and CA deposits.

Citi On Indus Towers

• Maintain 'buy' with a hike in target price to Rs 485 from Rs 470.

• Hold that Q4 was largely In line but a delay in dividend payout introduces uncertainty.

• FCF generation strong, though payout delayed.

• All past undisputed overdues from Vodafone Idea have now been cleared.

On Vedanta

CLSA

• Maintain 'outperform' with a hike in target price to Rs 535 from Rs 530.

• Q4 in line with estimates

• Expansion projects key to meet guidance

• Demerger in focus; leverage concerns largely behind us.

BofA

• Maintain 'neutral' with a cut in target price to Rs 455 from Rs 465.

• Q4 Ebitda largely in-line with the de-merger likely by Sept. 25.

• Cut target multiple for aluminium in-line with multiple contraction of global upstream peers.

Citi On Eternal

• Maintain 'buy' with a hike in target price to Rs 290 from Rs 280.

• Q4: quick commerce cash burn has likely peaked out

• Remains in pole-position in a large TAM

• Opex increases are largely focused on sustainable growth.

Macquarie On Larsen & Toubro

• Maintain 'outperform' with a target price of Rs 4,210.

• L&T trades at attractive valuations.

• Backlog provides healthy earnings and RoE visibility over the next two years.

• Diversified offerings lend resilience to order inflows and are reflected in the variety of order wins in fiscal 2025.

• Near term, all eyes are on fiscal; 2026 order inflows and margin guidance to be announced post Q4 results.