Experts see the Indian market continuing its strong momentum given the reopening of the economy, a pick-up in vaccination drive and low interest rates.
Benchmark Nifty touched a lifetime high of 15,915 but erased gains and closed below 15800 levels. Meanwhile, the broader market, especially smallcaps, continued their good run in a volatile week. The S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty50 closed 0.8 percent lower each for the week ended July 2, compared to a 0.2 percent fall seen in the S&P BSE Midcap index, and a 2.2 percent gain seen in the S&P BSE Smallcap index.
ISGEC Heavy Engineering | The stock surged over 30 percent after the company’s net profit rose 380.82 percent to Rs 63.42 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared to Rs 13.19 crore in the year ago. During FY21, profit jumped 71.5 percent to Rs 247.85 crore compared to Rs 144.51 crore in FY20. The firm received an order for Wet Limestone Flue Gas Desulphurisation System and Flue Gas Conditioning System Package (FGD-FGC Package) from Odisha Power Generation Corporation for their 2×660 MW TPPIB Thermal Power Station at Banharpalli, Jharsuguda, Odisha.
PNC Infratech | The share price jumped 16 percent after the company said it has a strong order book of over Rs 11,600 crore. “As of March 31, 2021, the remaining value of contracts under execution of Rs 11,648 crore. After considering the two engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) road projects, seven EPC water projects, the order book is over Rs 16,600 crore,” PNC Infra said in an investor presentation. HDFC Securities has recommended a “buy” on the stock with a target of Rs 342 per share.
Central Bank of India, IOB | The stocks gained 12 percent and 10 percent respectively after the banks emerged as likely candidates for disinvestment. The two state-run banks might see 51 percent stake sale in the first phase of disinvestment.
Apollo Hospitals | The share price added over 8 percent as the company plans to reorganise its back-end pharmacy and 24/7 business. Yash Gupta of Angel Broking has a buy call on the stock and has increased the target price from Rs 3,700 to 3,900. On June 23, the company reported March-quarter consolidated net profit at Rs 167.86 crore, down 23.48 percent from Rs 219.36 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. ICICI Direct has a buy call on the stock with a target price of Rs 3,870.
Vodafone Idea | The stock fell 17 percent after the embattled telecom firm reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 7,022.8 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. The firm had posted a loss of Rs 11,643.5 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. In the December quarter, the company’s losses stood at Rs 4,532.1 crore. Goldman Sachs has a sell rating with a target of Rs 3 while CLSA has an underperform rating with target of Rs 10. The company’s managing director Ravinder Takkar said the telco expects to raise funds shortly and doesn’t need a Plan B just yet, expressing confidence that adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues will be reduced.
Shree Cements | The share shed 5 percent after JP Morgan downgraded the stock to underweight from neutral and has cut the target price to Rs 23,300 from Rs 26,500 per share. JP Morgan believes demand is likely to be solid in the cement sector for the next two-three years. However, the firm is seeing a strong rise in input costs like coke, coal and that is likely to impact the first half of this year.
HDFC Life Insurance | The scrip slipped over 5 percent in the week gone by. Standard Life sold 7 crore, or about 3.46 percent of the total shares of the company through block deals on June 29. The price range of the block deal book was fixed at Rs 658 to 678 per share. Brokerage firm Prabhudas Lilladher has a hold rating on the stock with a target of Rs 725 per share.
Happiest Minds | The share price jumped over 26 percent last week. In FY22, the market price of the company has more-than-doubled. In FY21, Happiest Minds Technologies posted a 126.6 percent YoY growth in profit after tax (PAT) at Rs 162.46 crore compared with Rs 71.71 crore posted in FY20. Revenue grew 10.8 percent YoY to Rs 773.41 crore.
Indraprastha Gas | The share price was up over 9 percent in the week gone by. The company has posted Q4FY21 net profit of Rs 331 crore against Rs 334.87 crore in the quarter ended December 2020. Its revenue was up 7.22 percent at Rs 1,710.32 crore against Rs 1,595.09 crore (QoQ). The company board has recommended the payment of dividend at 180 percent i.e. R. 3.6 per share (face value of Rs 2 each) for the financial year 2020-21.
NALCO | The scrip added over 7 percent after the company reported a nine-fold rise in consolidated profit at Rs 935.74 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, helped by strong operational performance and favourable prices. It had posted a consolidated profit of Rs 100.51 crore in the year-ago period. The consolidated income of the company increased to Rs 2,874.47 crore, compared to Rs 2,042.27 crore in the year-ago period.
Sandip Das