Shares of L&T Technology Services rose 3.5 percent in the opening trade on January 17, a day after the company reported healthy quarterly numbers for the October-December period. Positive commentary from the management, hinting at better days ahead, further lifted the sentiment.
At 9.17am, shares of L&T Tech were trading at Rs 5,491.50 on the NSE.
The information technology company posted a 14.4 percent on-quarter jump in its consolidated net profit to Rs 336.2 crore in Q3, largely in-line with CNBC TV-18 estimate of Rs 332 crore.
The topline grew 1.5 percent sequentially to Rs 2,422 crore. In dollar terms, the revenue stood at $290.7 million for October-December. The operating margin ticked marginally by 10 basis points on-quarter to 17.2 percent in Q3.
The company's management sounded positive, with the CEO quoting that "winter is over, spring is around the corner". On that account, the company also retained its FY24 growth guidance of 17.5–18.5 percent, pointing towards a strong Q4.
Deal flows in Q3 also remained strong with six $10-million-plus contracts.
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Hopeful of seeing a turnaround in the coming quarters, Nuvama Institutional Equities raised its FY24/25/26 by 0.2 percent/1.5 percent/3.1 percent in anticipation of enhanced revenue visibility for L&T Tech. The firm also upgraded the stock to 'buy' while raising its price target by over 20 percent to Rs 6,260.
Motilal Oswal Financial Services also remains positive of the company and believes that with deal activity and pipeline continuing to improve, L&T Tech is likely to gain incremental business from the scale-up in new accounts.
"While Q4 will benefit from seasonal tailwinds in the recently acquired SWC (Software and Consulting) business, the upper end of the guidance indicates an improving near-term outlook, a ramp-up in recent empanelment, and potential large deal wins," the firm said in a note. MOFSL has a 'buy' call on the stock with a price target of Rs 6,220.
At a contrast, Nomura showed caution as it felt the Q4 ask rate for L&T Tech for achieving its FY24 revenue growth guidance of 17.5-18.5 percent was a steep one. On that account, Nomura retained its 'reduce' call on the stock and inched down its price target to Rs 3,880.
On the other hand, Jefferies believes the company would need material acceleration for growth in FY25, in the absence of which, it could underperform. The brokerage has an 'underweight' call on the stock with a target price of Rs 4,600.
Also Read | L&T Tech Q3 results: Net profit jumps 13% YoY to Rs 336 crore, revenue up 12%
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