Brokerage Radar: Jefferies boosts MGL target, UBS initiates coverage on Tata Power with 'Buy'

Stock Market Trend

Check out the latest brokerage calls and analyst comments on the stocks in action today. Our coverage includes Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Ashok Leyland, and other stocks.

Tech Mahindra

Nomura On Tech Mahindra
Buy Call, Target `1,600/Sh
Q1 Broadly In-line With Estimate
EBIT Margin At 8.5% Was Up 110 bps QoQ Vs Estimate Of 8.4%
EBIT Margin Partly Aided By Normalisation Of Sub-contracting Expenses, Down 200 bps QoQ
Deal Wins At $534 m Was Up 49% YoY, EPS At `9.6 Was Up 23% YoY
Business Repair Underway

Bernstein On Tech Mahindra
Outperform Call, Target `1,390/Sh
Co Reported In-line Revenue Of $1,559 m, Growth Of 0.7% QoQ CC/-1.2% YoY CC
Growth Was Led By Healthcare & Retail Verticals While Telecom Declined
EBIT Margin Was A Beat At 8.5%, Led By Operational Improvements
Telecom Was Impacted By Seasonality In Comviva Biz, Declined 1.9% QoQ CC

Jefferies On MGL
Buy Call, Target Raised To `1,990/Sh
Q1 EBITDA Was 9% Ahead Of Estimate On Lower Gas Cost
Q1 Overall Volume Grew Double-digits For Second Consecutive Quarter, Much Ahead Of IGL
Expect Strong Vol Growth Over FY25/26 On Strong RO Additions
Rising APM Shortfall Puts A Lid On Margin, But Recent Price Hikes Are Assuring
Raise Target Multiple To 16x- In Line With IGL's Since Co’s Volume Growth Outlook Is Superior

CLSA On Ramco Cements
Downgrade To Underperform, Target Cut To `685/Sh From `800/Sh
Q1 EBITDA Was Below Consensus Largely On Lower Volumes (+1% YoY)
Q1 Profitability Of `733/t, (Down 3% QoQ & 8% YoY) Was Higher Than Expected On Better Prices
Co Expects To Achieve 30 mt Capacity By FY26 After Kurnool Line 2 Clinker Expansion
Co’s Expectation To Achieve 30 mt Capacity Looks Higher Than Its Earlier Guidance

MS On AU Small Fin Bank
Overweight Call, Target `850/Sh
Stock Underperformed Going Into Q1 Earnings, & Expect Some Recovery
Quarter Saw Better Than Expected Margin & A 26% Beat On Core PpOP
Credit Cost Was At 146 bps Vs Guidance Of 110-120 bps, Co Retained Its Full-year Guidance
Q1 RoA Was 1.6% In-line With Full Year Guidance Despite A Seasonally Soft Quarter
PAT 27% Above Est Led By A Strong Beat On Revenues As Well As Costs
Margin Beat Was 10 bps, & Fee Income Was 17% Above Estimates

UBS On Tata Power
Initiate Buy, Target `510/Sh
Co Embracing Energy Transitions Across Dimensions
Co Has Strong EBITDA Growth For Businesses Linked To Renewables Value Chain
Renewables Value Chain Includes Renewable Power Generation, Solar Equipment Mfg
Renewables Value Chain Includes Large-scale Solar EPC Projects & Pumped Storage
Stock Trades At 3.3x FY26 P/BV & 11.6x FY26 EV/EBITDA

GS On Laurus Labs
Sell Call, Target `350/Sh
Q1 Sales Growing 1% YoY, Down 12% Vs Estimates
Q1 Sales Growing Impacted By Weakness Across Divisions (Except API Segment)
EBITDA Margin Also Came Below Estimate At 14.3%, Down 367 bps Vs Estimate
EBITDA Margin Lower Primarily Due To Higher R&D Spends & Operating Deleverage
Co Did Not Provide Quantitative Topline Guidance For FY25
Mgmt Said That They Have Laid Strong Foundations For Medium-term Growth Starting H2FY25
Co Expects Margin To Improve To 20% Levels Driven By Asset Utilisation & Productivity Gains

Nomura On Ashok Leyland
Buy Call, Target `247/Sh
Q1 EBITDA Margin Largely In-line With Estimates
Management Mentioned That It Continues To See Strong Demand In All Its Business Units
Co’s Biz Segments Such As Power Solutions, Aftermarket Contributed Strongly To Top Line
Co’s Biz Segments Such As Defence, Intl Operations Also Contributed Strongly To Top Line
Key Catalysts Will Be Improved CV Growth, Double-Digit EBITDA Growth Over FY25-26F
Key Catalysts Will Be Upside From EV Biz, For Which No Value Has Been Assigned By Us

UBS On Syngene
Sell Call, Target `650/Sh
Tall Take Ahead For Management To Deliver On Guidance
Miss On Q1 Margin; Unlikely Near Term Relief
Needs Mid-teens Growth And Nearly 100 bps Margin Improvement In H2
Management Alluded To Seeing Improvement In US Biotech Funding
Mgmt Alluded Start Of Pilot Projs In Discovery Which Should Help Them Pick Up Pace In H2
Believe Any Meaningful Impact Of Same Is Likely To Come In FY26 Only

Nomura On Bajaj Finserv
Buy Call, Target `1,780/Sh
Q1 Consol PAT Of `214 Cr Primarily Driven By Its Lending Subsidiary – Bajaj Finance
Bajaj Finance Contributed 81% Of Co’s Profit
Bajaj Finance Has Strong AUM Growth; Pressure On NIM/Elevated Credit Cost A Concern
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Showed Steady Growth In APE
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Has Pressure On Margin Due To Change In Product Mix
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Premium Growth Healthy; RoE Inched Up To 21.3%

MS On Aavas Fin
Equal-Weight Call, Target `1,675/Sh
Q1 PAT Was 2% Above Estimates
PBT Was Only 1% Above Est As NII Miss Of 1% Was Offset By 4% Beat On Operating Costs
Credit Cost Of 20 bps Was In-line With Estimates
Tweak FY25-27 EPS Estimates
Remain Equal-Weight As Valuation, 2.8x NTM P/BV, Appears Full For F2027 RoE Of 15.3%

MS On Bharti Airtel
Equal-Weight Call, Target `1,330/Sh
Airtel Africa Q1FY25 Revenue/EBITDA Fell Short Of Estimates
Other Key Highlights Were Lower Capex, Full Repayment Of Holdco Debt
Other Key Highlights Were Continued Traction In Mobile Money

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