Buying is select heavyweight counters continues to provide oxygen to the benchmark equity indices on Dalal Street.
As a result, Nifty50 on Wednesday hit the psychologically important 11,000 mark for the first time since October 2018.The 15 Nifty components that have moved higher so far in 2019 include Axis Bank, which has rallied the most at 17 per cent, followed by Reliance Industries (up 15 per cent), Titan (15 per cent), Infosys (up 15 per cent), Bharti Infratel (up 12 per cent) and Wipro (up 11 per cent).Third largest private sector lender Axis Bank recently posted a 131 per cent surge in net income for December quarter at Rs 1,681 crore boosted by a huge jump in recoveries from written-off accounts.
Reliance Securities has a buy rating on Axis Bank with a price target of Rs 750.
Oil-telecom behemoth Reliance Industries reported an 8.8 per cent year-on-year rise in October-December quarter profit at Rs 10,251 crore.
Japanese brokerage firm Nomura has a buy call on RIL with a price target of Rs 1,480.Countrys second largest IT firm Infosys posted a 30 per cent drop in December quarter profit on higher expenses even as it approved a Rs 8,260 crore share buyback.
Its net profit slumped to Rs 3,610 crore for the quarter from Rs 5,129 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in a statement.
Centrum is positive on Infosys with a target price of Rs 805.Among others, shares of HCL Technologies, TCS, Asian Paints, Dr Reddys Labs, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, UPL and Kotak Mahindra Bank have gained up to 8.50 per cent so far this year.
HCL Technologies last week reported a 19 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 2,611 crore for December quarter and expressed confidence in meeting the higher end of its 9.5-11.5 per cent revenue growth guidance for FY2019.
Centrum has a hold call on HCL Tech with a target price of Rs 1,125.
TCS posted highest-ever profit for Q3 at Rs 8,105 crore, but brokerage Edelweiss has a hold rating on it due to rich valuations with a target price of Rs 2,137.IT firm Tech Mahindra on February 5 posted a 27.5 per cent increase in consolidated profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 1,203 crore for December quarter.
It had reported Rs 9,431 crore PAT for the corresponding period a year ago.
Global brokerage firm CLSA has maintained an outperform call on Tech Mahindra with an upward price target of Rs 810 (Rs 720 earlier).
CLSA hiked revenue estimates for the IT firm by 1-3 per cent and margin estimates by 75-130 basis points.Shares of Zee Entertainment and Indiabulls Housing Finance are down most at 23 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively, during the same period.
Among others, shares of Vedanta, MM, Grasim Industries, UltraTech Cement, Adani Ports, Eicher Motors, JSW Steel, HPCL and Hero MotoCorp have eroded investor wealth by 10 -20 per cent since the beginning of this calendar year.
Hero MotoCorp reported a 4.5 per cent drop in its standalone profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 769.1 crore for the third quarter ended December 31 on higher expenses despite selling more vehicles in the period.
Centrum has a buy rating on Hero MotoCorp with a target price of Rs 3,500.
Till February 5, the Nifty was up 72 points for the year to date from its December 31 close of 10,862.The guide is here6 Feb, 2019For investors, the upcoming national elections are a force to reckon with.
The Interim Budget has already given its cues.Market participants are closely tracking the RBI policy trajectory, the first under the new Governor Shaktikanta Das.There are other variables at play, too.So, which stocks can come to your rescue with all these uncertainties around Edelweiss Securities has stuck its neck out.
We bring you its calls.
Titan Company| Buy| Target price: Rs 1,1826 Feb, 2019Investment rationale: Titan Companys third-quarter revenue, adjusted EBITDA and PAT growth of 34.3 per cent, 47.1 per cent and 35 per cent YoY, respectively, surpassed Streets estimates.
Titans jewellery division delivered robust growth backed by studded and retail, watches sustained healthy sales growth and eyewear divisions renewed strategy seems to be reaping benefits.
FY20 looks promising looking at the number of wedding season days.
Titan may extend its growth run, led by market share gains, rising share of studded jewellery, new launches and retail expansion.
Margin expansion levers such as higher share of studded (jewellery), in-house frame manufacturing (eyewear), cost optimisation and operating leverage are in place.State Bank of India| Buy| Target price: Rs 356 Feb, 2019Investment rationale: State Bank of India (SBI), after muted earnings since the past many quarters, posted a respectable PAT in December quarter of Rs 3,950 crore with improved prospects.
The company clocked steady improvement in operating metrics and is better positioned to capture emerging opportunities amidst slackened competition.
Further, value in non-banking subsidiaries will be more stable and scalable.
Dabur| Buy| Target price: Rs 5356 Feb, 2019Investment rationale: Dabur Indias third-quarter results were in line with our estimates with revenue, EBITDA and PAT growing 11.8 per cent, 10.4 per cent and 10.3 per cent YoY, respectively.
The third quarter growth by category is well diversified and well performing categories are making further inroads.
Rural growth was 400bps higher than Urban growth.
The brokerage expects volume recovery to not only sustain but improve also, aided by the expansion of the herbal market, premiumisation, innovative launches and a potential uptick in rural spending.
Dr.
Reddys Laboratories| Buy| Target price: Rs 3,4506 Feb, 2019Dr.
Reddys Laboratories| Buy| Target price: Rs 3,450Investment rationale: Dr.
Reddys Laboratories' strong third-quarter numbers show that the company is on track to achieve healthy earnings growth.
Domestic business grew 10 per cent YoY on new products launches and is tracking in-line with guidance.
The company's promising complex generics pipeline, strong earnings revival and compelling valuations (15.7x FY20E EPS) make it a prime re-rating candidate.