Brokerage Radar: Jefferies raises Sun Pharma's target, CLSA lowers LIC Housing price outlook

Brokerage Radar

Check out the latest brokerage calls and analyst comments on the stocks in action today. Our coverage includes Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Ambuja Cements, Indian Oil and more.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries

CLSA On Sun Pharma
Hold Call, Target `1,820/Sh
Q2 In-line Driven By Strong US Sales And Improvement In gRevlimid Sales
Steady India Business (+11% YoY) Driven By High Volume Growth Across All Categories
Mgmt Cut Its FY25 R&D Guidance Due To A Delay In The Commissioning Of Clinical Trials
Raise Earnings Est Marginally, Especially Over FY25-2026, Due To Lower R&D Expenses

Jefferies On Sun Pharma
Buy Call, Target Price Raised To `2,150/Sh
Q2 Sales In Line; EBITDA & PAT Ahead Of Est On Lower R&D Costs
US Growth Was Driven By Higher gRevlimid & Specialty
India Segment Grew 11% Led By Volumes
R&D Guidance For FY25 Revised Down Due To Slower Clinical Trials
Co Remains Prepared To Launch Leqselvi Post Its Litigation Resolution
Co Is Well placed To Conclude More Deals In Specialty

Ambuja Cements

Morgan Stanley On Ambuja Cements
Overweight Call, Target Price At `775/Sh
Standalone And Cons Volumes Were Much Higher Than Est
Standalone & Cons Volumes Benefitted From Better-than-expected Realisations
Consol Opex Was Slightly Higher
EBITDA/t Was `780/t Vs Est Of `697/t

Goldman Sachs On Ambuja Cements
Neutral Call, Target Price At `640/Sh
Co’s Consolidated Volumes Increased 8% YoY
Realsations Were Up 1% QoQ, better than UltraTech & Dalmia

CLSA On Indian Oil
Underperform Rating, Target `120/Sh
Q2 PAT A Big Disappointment Vs Estimate, As A Miss In Marketing Margins
Larger-Than-Expected Inventory Losses Pulled Core PBT Into Negative Territory
One-Time Provision Writeback Helped Reported PAT
Cut FY25-27CL PAT By 6%-20% To Build In Miss & Est Of A Big Jump In Mktg Margin
Possibility Of A Retail Fuel Price Cut Or Excise Duty Hike Negative Catalysts For The Stock

CLSA On LIC Housing Finance
Upgrade To Outperform, Target Cut To `700/Sh
Q2 NII & PPoP Missed Est By 6%-7%, PAT Beat By 7% Due To A Lower Credit Cost
PPoP Weakness Is On A/C Of A Reduction In Spreads & Higher-Than-Est Ops Expenses
Calculated Spreads Have Declined 40-50 Bps Past Two Qtrs
Calculated Spreads Closer To Pre-Rate Tightening Levels
However, Silver Lining Was Asset Quality Performance
As A Result, Credit Costs In 1HFY25 Were 15 bps Vs FY24 At 60 bps

CLSA On BHEL
Underperform Call, Target `189/Sh
Reiterate Underperform As Key Catalyst Of Its Inclusion In Global Passive Indices Is Past
Recent Entry Of L&T In Thermal Power Equipment Questions Co’s Market Dominance
Stock Is Pricing In A Lot More At 40x FY26CL
Operationally, Is Turning Around In Q2, With Execution Up 33%
Key Bright Spot Was The Resurgence Of Fossil Orders
Given India’s Focus On Energy Security, As Future Of Its Thermal Biz Looks Bleak Beyond FY30

Nomura On ACC
Upgrade To Neutral Call, Target Price Cut to `2,400/Sh
Co Reported lowest EBITDA/t Since Sep 22
3QFY25F: Lower Fuel Cost/Tonne To Improve Unitary EBITDA
Trim FY25F/26F Cement EBITDA Estimates By 18%/1%

UBS On Bharti Airtel
Neutral Call, Target Price At `1,595/Sh
Q2 Broadly In Line With Consolidated Revenue And EBITDA
India Mobile Revenues Grew 10.3% QoQ On Back Of Recent Tariff Hike
Home Broadband, Africa And Enterprise Were Slightly Ahead Of Estimates
Digital TV Came In Slightly Below Est
PAT Was 21% Below Est Due To An Exceptional Loss During The Quarter

Morgan Stanley On BEL
Overweight Call, Target Price At `364/Sh
F25 Revenue Growth At 15%, Order Inflow At `250 Bn, Gross Margin At 42%
Near-term outlook: Confident In Maintaining 15% Rev CAGR Over Next 5 Yrs
Would Look To Increase Rev CAGR To 17.5%
Order Inflow Prospects Remain Strong

Nomura On FirstSource
Buy Call, Target Price At `400/Sh
QoQ: Revenue Beat, Margins In Line
FY25 Revenue Growth Guidance Raised To 19.5-20.5% From 11.5-13.5%
Margin Expansion To Remain Slow Initially With Front-Loading Of Investments
Raise FY25-27F EPS By 2.6-9.6%

UBS On Federal Bank
Buy Call, Target Price At `250/Sh
PAT Beat Driven By Lower Credit Costs In Q2; Asset Quality Stable
Healthy Loan Growth; CASA Deposits Up 4% QoQ
Management Maintains Their Previous FY25 Guidance Est
Believe Any Clarity On The Bank’s Strategy For Improving NIMs Could Be A Near-Term Catalyst
Risk Reward Seems Attractive

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