Brokerage Radar: Bullishness spreads for M&M, but Ola Electric, Cummins and Thermax face target cuts

Stock Market Radar

Check out the latest brokerage calls and analyst comments on the stocks in action today. Our coverage includes Mahindra & Mahindra, Ola Electric, LIC, Cummins, Thermax and Fortis Health among others.

M&M

Nomura On M&M

Buy Call, Target Rs 3,681/sh

Tractor Guidance Raised; BEV Launch Next Major Catalyst

Q3 EBITDA In-line With Est

Management Expects Income Tax Cuts To Benefit Demand

CLSA On M&M

Outperform Call, Target Rs 3,510/sh

Although Experienced A QoQ Decline In Its ASP For Auto/Farm Segments

Still Achieved An All-time High Auto EBIT Margin Of 9.7%

Believe XUV 3X0, Thar Roxx & New EVs Will Help Co Gain Market Share In UVs

Believe It Will Be Tough For It To Maintain Margin With Rising EV Scale

Co Remains Confident In Industry Tractor Volume Growth Of >15% Q4

GS On M&M

Buy Call, Target Rs 3,800/sh

Q3 Beat, Core Auto + Farm EBIT Was +5% Above BBG Consensus

Mgmt Expects Ongoing Strength In Tractor Volumes To Continue In Q4 & Into FY26

Guidance For 15%+ Growth In Q4FY25

Demand On Thar Roxx, Thar 3 Door, & XUV 3xo SUVs Are Collectively Driving 4,000/Month Capacity Increase On These Models Over Next 3 Months

Macquarie On M&M

Outperform Call, Target Raised To Rs 3,643/sh

Tractor Demand & Margin Outlook Positive; Optimistic On BEV Traction

Underlying Auto Segment Margin Remains Strong

Headline Auto Margin To Be Impacted By EV Losses In FY26

UBS On M&M

Neutral Call, Target Rs 3,460/sh

Market Share Gains Continued Across Businesses; Outlook Constructive

Q3FY25 Broadly In-Line For Both Autos & FES

Accounting Changes For EV Subsidiary; More On EV Demand & Profitability

Stock At 15x FY27 EV/ EBITDA Multiple (Core) Is Trading +2 SD Above It's Last 5-Yr Avg

Jefferies On M&M

Buy Call, Target  Rs 4,075/sh

Delivered 11th Consecutive Quarter Of Double-digit EBITDA Growth

EBIT Margin Rose 1.4-2.6% YoY In Farm & Autos

Tractor Demand Is Improving After 1.5 Years & Co Expects 15%+ Growth In Q4

An Expanding Portfolio Is Driving Strong SUV Volume Growth For Co

Co Has Been Gaining Mkt Share Across PVs, Tractors & LCVs In Recent Years

Insurance

CLSA On Insurance

Private Insurers Individual APE Grew 20% YoY In Jan 2025

Total APE Growth For Private Insurers Was At 19% YoY

Individual NOP Sold Were Up Only 6% YoY But Are Up 9% For 10MFY25

In Jan, HDFC Life Delivered The Strongest Growth, 27% On A 10% Base

IPRU Life Delivered 18% Total APE Growth

Max Had Growth Of 12% But On A Very High 53% Base

SBI Life Delivered 3% Growth On A High 35% Base

HSBC On Insurance

Industry’s Individual APE Growth Recovered In Jan’25 From A Slow Q3FY25

FY25 Ask Rate For Residual Growth Is Low For ICICI Pru & HDFC Life Relative To Peers

SBI Life’s Individual APE Growth Is Recovering & Sustained Healthy APE Growth

GS On LIC

Neutral Call, Target Rs 900/sh

Topline Miss Was Led By Individual Par Biz That Declined 38% YoY & Group Biz

Margin Declined As Better Product Was More Than Offset By Lower Risk Free Rates

Negative Operating Leverage & New Surrender Payouts

Going Forward, Mgmt Expects Focus On Non-Par Products To Continue

Focus On Non-Par Pdts Leading To A Margin Improvement In Medium Term

GS On Ola Electric

Buy Call, Target Cut To Rs 101 From Rs 118/sh

Q3 Revenue Above Est

Impact Of Post-festive Discounts Was Lower Than Our Expectations

Mgmt Has Spent Time In Improving Service Network Coverage & Product Quality

Mgmt Has Reduced Svc Turnaround Time To 1.1 Days In Q3 Vs 2.5 Days QoQ

CLSA On Sun TV

Hold Call, Target Cut To Rs 670/sh

Q3 Standalone Rev Below Est, Miss Was Led By An Advertising Revenue Decline

Even Co’s Subscriptions Saw Low 2% YoY Growth

Co’s Margin Was Also Dragged Down By Sun Neo The Hindi Channel

Co Had The Winning Bid For One Of 8 Franchisees Of A Cricket League In UK

Apollo Tyres

UBS On Apollo Tyres

Buy Call, Target Rs 525/sh

Q3 Another Miss Driven By India, While Europe In Line

Co Seeing Flattish Raw Material Basket In Q4

They Have Not Planned Any Price Hikes In The Near Term

Mgmt Is Targetting US & Middle East (Esp Saudi Arabia) As The Key Export Markets

Mgmt Will Start Capacity Addition For PCR In FY26 In India & EU

Reifen Revenue Stood At £88 m (+17% YoY) With EBITDA Margin Of 7%.

Nomura On Apollo Tyres

Neutral Call, Target Rs 470/sh

Growth Headwinds From Weak Macro

Q3 In-line, Weak CV/Exports, Focus On Profitability To Delay Recovery

Commodity Tailwinds Largely Factored In

Focus On Profitability Over Mkt Shr Likely To Be Detrimental In Medium Term

Largely Evident In 9MFY25 Performance

Current Valuation At 6x FY27 EV/EBITDA Is In Fair Value Zone

Nomura On Anant Raj

Initiate Buy, Target Rs 750/sh

Expect Co To Generate Robust Cashflows From Residential On Solid Launch Pipeline

Expect Co To Successfully Execute Its Medium-Term Data Center (Dc)/Cloud Targets

Half Of Capex Can Be Funded From Internal Accruals

Concerns About Pricing Risk For DC/Cloud Segment Appear Overdone

India Remains Largely Under-Penetrated In DCs

While Regulations Should Drive Demand For India-Based Dc/Cloud Offerings

Strong Demand In GCER Should Aid Residential Segment Generate Robust Cash Flows

HSBC On Cummins

Buy Call, Target Cut To Rs 3,500 From Rs 4,200/sh

Q3 Profit Beat Consensus Est

Impressive Topline Growth Across Segments More Than Offset Margin Weakness

Limited Scope For Margin Expansion To Drive Moderation In Growth Prospects

Reset Valuation Multiples To Factor In Moderation In Growth

Jefferies On Thermax

Buy Call, Target Cut To Rs 4,835/sh

Q3 EBITDA A Big 29% Miss As Both Revenues & Margins Disappointed

Mgmt Mentioned That Q4 Should See Rev north of `3,000 Cr

Q3 Saw Impact Of Rev Deferment, Loss Making Projects Getting Completed

Believe Rev/Margin Linked 27% EPS FY24-27e CAGR Should Drive Upside From Current Lvls

Nomura On Fortis Health

Buy Call, Target Rs 700/sh

Overall Rev 2% Above Est

Hospital Rev 3% Higher & Diagnostic Segment Rev In-Line

Cons EBITDA Was 3% Below Estimate

Higher One-Time Branding Related Expenses In Diagnostics

Net Earnings Ahead Of Est On Lower-Than-Estimated Taxes & Exceptional Gains

HSBC On VRL Logistics

Hold Call, Target Cut To Rs 600/sh

Price Increases & Cost Efficiencies Drive Sharp Margin Improvement

Profitability Improvement Is Impressive, Need To See Sustainability Of It With Vol Growth