April marks the beginning of the new financial year. Tracking investments at this point gives us an insight into which sectors and stocks may be outperformers over the rest of the year. This year, April saw the Nifty 50 index begin the month with levels of 18,000, falling over the next few weeks to end the month with a loss of more than 1,200 points.

This fall did not spare any sector or industry, and stocks right from blue chips to small caps dropped drastically on the exchanges. Even during the fall in April however, fund managers have made their bets on some stocks, including banks, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and even a major two-wheeler manufacturer.

HDFC Bank - Merger announcement spurs interest in this stock

HDFC Bank has the highest market capitalisation currently among banks in India. The recent announcement of the merger with its parent company HDFC created a buzz in the market. This merger hinges upon how well regulatory issues will be addressed during the merger process. Most market participants view the merger as positive for the bank, as the merged entity will be one of the biggest financial institutions in the country.

The Q4FY22 results for HDFC Bank saw the highest revenues in the last 10 quarters at Rs 43,960 crore and net profit at Rs 10,443 crore, a YoY increase of 24%.

Fund Managers who bought shares of HDFC Bank

Shares were added to their respective schemes by Hiten Shah for Kotak Equity Arbitrage Fund Growth, Kinjal Desai and Anand Gupta for Nippon India Arbitrage Fund Growth, Gaurav Misra and Gaurav Khandelwal for Mirae Asset Large Cap Fund Regular Growth and Krishan Kumar Daga, Arun Agarwal and Sankalp Baid for HDFC Arbitrage Fund Wholesale Plan Growth.

Hindalco - Forging ahead with expansion plans

Hindalco is the world’s largest aluminum company by revenue, and part of the Aditya Birla Group. Over the years, Hindalco transformed its business model to reduce dependence on volatile LME (London metal exchange) price movement, and is focusing on a portfolio of value added products.

During the analyst call for Q3FY22 results, it unveiled a capex plan of approx US$8 billion over the next five years. Of the total capex, $4.5-$4.8 billion would be incurred by its  subsidiary Novelis, while around $3.37 billion would be spent on the India business. This capex would be spent on upstream and downstream aluminum processes and on the copper business.

Fund Managers who bought shares of Hindalco

Fund managers who bought shares of Hindalco were Hiten Shah for Kotak Equity Arbitrage Fund Growth, Rama Iyer Srinivasan and Mohit Jain for SBI Multicap Fund Regular Growth, Priyanka Khandelwal, Sankaran Naren and Dharmesh Kakkad for ICICI Prudential Value Discovery Fund Growth and Kayzad Eghlim, Priyanka Khandelwal and Nikhil Kabra for ICICI Prudential Equity Arbitrage Fund Regular Growth

Bandhan Bank - Improved operating metrics in one of the banks best quarters

Bandhan Bank commenced operations in 2015, beginning as a micro finance institution(MFIs) a few years ago before getting the banking license. Hence MFIs loans are its forte.The bank has a strong presence in eastern and northeastern India.

Bandhan Bank’s Q4FY22 results delivered its highest ever quarterly revenues at Rs 4,836 crore, a 28% YoY growth and net profits of Rs 1.902 crore, a 1,746% YoY growth. This quarter also saw improved NIMs, improved asset quality with sizable recoveries, and healthy balance sheet growth. 

Fund Managers who bought shares of Bandhan Bank

Shares for their schemes were added by Rama Iyer Srinivasan and Mohit Jain to SBI Multicap Fund Regular Growth, Mahesh Patil to Aditya Birla Sun Life Frontline Equity Fund Growth, Mohit Jain and Dinesh Balachandran to SBI Contra Fund Regular Payout Inc Dist cum Cap Wdrl and Mahesh Patil and Kunal Sangoi to Aditya Birla Sun Life Focused Equity Fund Growth schemes respectively.

SBI Cards and Payments Services - Profitability grows as the economy opens up

SBI Cards and Payment Services is the largest issuer of credit cards in India. It operates in more than 130 cities and is a subsidiary of State Bank of India with 69.2% stake in the company.

In Q4FY22, revenues grew 22% YoY to Rs 3,016 crore and profits grew 230% YoY to Rs 580.9 crore. In Q4 FY22, the company added one million new accounts with 27%+ YoY growth. New accounts registered 16% YoY growth in FY22, as the company added over 3.5 million new accounts. 

Spending in the month of January was affected by the Omicron wave in India, but subsequent recovery in February and March saw higher spending and one of the highest monthly spends on credit cards.

Fund Managers who bought shares of SBI Cards and Payments

Fund managers who bought shares include Priyanka Khandelwal, Sankaran Naren and Dharmesh Kakkad for ICICI Prudential Value Discovery Fund Growth, Gaurav Misra for Mirae Asset Focused Fund Regular Growth, Milind Agrawal for SBI Banking & Financial Services Regular Growth and Hiten Shah for Kotak Equity Arbitrage Fund Growth schemes.

TVS Motor Company - Widening its presence in the electric mobility space

TVS Motor Company is the third-largest two-wheeler manufacturer in India, and it sells motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and three-wheelers in India.

The electric scooter, TVS iQube got a strong customer response and continues to grow with more than 12,000 units sold in FY22. The electric scooter is currently present in 33 cities and aims for pan India presence by end of Q1FY23 along with some international markets. Recent tie up with Jio-BP, a Reliance Industries joint venture with BP, Tata Power and CSL network for charging infrastructure will enhance the customer experience. 

On exports, TVS is performing well and gaining market share in the African and Latin American markets. TVS has invested around Rs 700 crore in new e-mobility companies namely SEMG and Norton, both of which are profitable companies. SEMG will focus on the European market which is the fastest-growing market for electric two-wheelers.

Fund Managers who bought shares of TVS Motor Company

Shares were purchased by Rama Iyer Srinivasan and Mohit Jain for SBI Multicap Fund Regular Growth, Edelweiss Arbitrage Fund Regular Growth, Bhavesh Jain and Dhaval Dalal for Edelweiss Balanced Advantage Fund Regular Plan Growth and Aniruddha Naha and Vivek Sharma for PGIM India Midcap Opportunities Fund Regular Growth schemes respectively.

Aster DM Healthcare - Expansion plans underway in India with asset light business model

Aster DM Healthcare operates hospitals, clinics, retail pharmacies and provides healthcare services to patients across economic segments in India and several GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries.

Aster is looking to expand its network following an asset light model in India. It has increased focus on asset light retail models like diagnostics, pharmacy distribution, homecare along with push towards integrated virtual platforms. It is pursuing aggressive expansion in both GCC and India but remains on firm footing due to cash generation from existing GCC operations.

Aster’s plan includes the addition of hospitals at Areekode, Begaluru, Chennai and Kannur to be completed over the next two to three years.

Fund Managers who bought shares of Aster DM Healthcare

Shares were added to their respective schemes by Priyanka Khandelwal, Sankaran Naren and Dharmesh Kakkad for ICICI Prudential Value Discovery Fund Growth, Mohit Jain and Dinesh Balachandran for SBI Contra Fund Regular Payout Inc Dist cum Cap Wdrl, Priyanka Khandelwal and Harish Bihani for ICICI Prudential Smallcap Fund Growth and Chirag Setalvad and Sankalp Baid for HDFC Small Cap Fund Growth.

Gland Pharma - Opportunity in the US market with drugs in short supply

Gland Pharma is a pharmaceutical company which manufactures injectable products. It has 11 injectable products in the USFDA shortage list, which have a combined sales of $400 million over the past year. Among the Indian players present in the US, it appears to be the largest beneficiary from drugs under shortages due to consistent compliance and manufacturing capacity/capabilities.

There are certain drugs where more than five of its peers have ANDA approvals. Despite that, the drugs are under shortage due to increased demand or reduced supply or manufacturing constraints/discontinuation by existing companies.

Fund Managers who bought shares of Gland Pharma

Fund managers who added to respectives schemes include Gaurav Misra and Gaurav Khandelwal for Mirae Asset Large Cap Fund Regular Growth, Mahesh Patil for Aditya Birla Sun Life Frontline Equity Fund Growth, Neelesh Surana and Ankit Jain for Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund Growth and Mahesh Patil and Kunal Sangoi for Aditya Birla Sun Life Focused Equity Fund Growth

Shriram Transport Finance - Revival of the economy drives demand for transportation

Shriram Transport Finance, part of the Shriram Group is India's largest player in commercial vehicle finance. The company is a leader in organized financing of pre-owned trucks with presence in 5-10 year old trucks.

Shriram Transport Finance delivered a strong result in Q4FY22. It recorded its highest ever quarterly revenues at Rs 5,087.6 crore and highest ever quarterly net profit at Rs 1091.2 crore. The operating profit margin in Q4FY22 at 74.4% was the highest in the last ten quarters. 

In Q4FY22, the economic recovery after months of the pandemic pushed up demand for trucks, which led to higher demand for commercial vehicle finance.

Fund Managers who bought shares of Shriram Transport Finance

Shares were added to respective schemes by Neelesh Surana and Ankit Jain to Mirae Asset Emerging Bluechip Fund Growth, Neelesh Surana to Mirae Asset Tax Saver Fund -Regular Plan-Growth, Hiten Shah to Kotak Equity Arbitrage Fund Growth and Ankit Jain to Mirae Asset Midcap Fund Regular Growth

Minda Corporation - Rising component share across electric two wheelers

Minda Corporation serves auto original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) across two main verticals, mechatronics and aftermarket products. Its products include safety & security, die-casting, starter motors etc. as well as information & connected systems.

Minda Corporation is stepping up its game in the EV space with development of new products. The potential kit value in electric 2-wheeler is at Rs 16,000-20,000/unit. An increase in kit value is envisaged through content increase in existing products as well as new product offerings. Its key clients include leading EV 2-wheeler OEMs like Ola Electric, Hero Electric, Ampere among others.

Fund Managers who bought shares of Minda Corporation

Additions to their portfolios were made by Aniruddha Naha and Ravi Adukia to PGIM India Flexi Cap Fund Regular Growth, Anupam Tiwari and Hitesh Das to Axis Small Cap Fund Regular Growth, Anupam Tiwari and Sachin Jain to Axis Multicap Fund Regular Growth and Aniruddha Naha and Ravi Adukia to PGIM India Small Cap Fund Regular Growth schemes respectively.

Godrej Agrovet - Strong performance across verticals in Q4FY22

Godrej Agrovet is a major player in the animal feed business in India, producing animal feed and nutrition products for dairy cattle, broiler chicken, layer chicken and aquaculture sectors.

In Q4FY22, it reported a strong operating performance, with YoY revenue growth of 48.4% at Rs 2,133 crore and net profit YoY growth of 116% at Rs 122.3 crore. EBIT grew 6x and 55% YoY in palm oil and crop protection segments respectively. EBIT margin expanded across segments with the highest for palm oil vertical at 25.2%. Animal feed, which was affected by higher input costs, was the only underperforming segment.

Fund Managers who bought shares of Godrej Agrovet

Buying interest was shown by fund managers, Samir Rachh and Kinjal Desai for Nippon India Small Cap Fund - Growth, and  Nippon India Multi Cap Fund - Growth, Yogesh Patil for LIC MF Large & Mid Cap Regular Growth and Aniruddha Naha and Ravi Adukia for PGIM India Small Cap Fund Regular Growth