1. Mahindra & Mahindra: Motilal Oswal maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on this cars & utility vehicles manufacturer with a target price of Rs 1,525. This implies an upside of 30.1%. Analysts Jinesh Gandhi, Amber Shukla and Aniket Desai are positive about the company’s prospects as demand for its automobiles and tractors remains healthy despite macroeconomic challenges and supply chain disruptions. 

However, they added, “with multiple industry-wide challenges emerging in the foreseeable future”, the analysts expect lower volume growth for both the divisions, compared to earlier expectations. They project lower growth for the company’s sports utility vehicle (SUV) business in FY25 due to increasing competitive launches. 

Gandhi, Shukla and Desai anticipate margins to improve from its Q3FY23 levels on the back of price hikes, cost-cutting measures and easing supply of semiconductors. According to them, the company also plans to grow its nascent farm equipment business by 10X in FY27. They expect the firm’s net profit to grow at a CAGR of 20% over FY23-25.  

2. Astral: ICICI Securities maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on this adhesive manufacturing company with a target price of Rs 2,373. This implies an upside of 71.4%. The target price was set for the pre-split share price. Analysts Arun Baid and Sohil Kaura “continue to like Astral for its strong brand, comprehensive product portfolio, wide distribution reach and robust balance sheet”. They see the healthy demand trend in the pipe market as a key positive and say it will lead to robust volume growth in the near term. The analysts also expect the firm’s margins to improve on the back of falling raw material prices and stable PVC resin prices. 

Baid and Kaura are upbeat about the company’s ramp-up in the bathware segment. As of February 2023, the company has opened 320 showrooms and plans to open around 500 more by Q1FY24. The analysts expect the company’s revenue to grow at a CAGR of 17.1% over FY23-25.  

3. Greenply Industries: IDBI Capital initiates a ‘Buy’ coverage on this plywood manufacturer with a target price of Rs 171. This indicates an upside of 22.9%. Analysts Bhavesh Chauhan and Kuber Chauhan say, “Greenply is a proxy play on rising real estate sales in India as it is the second largest plywood company in India and is on the verge of commissioning a 2,40,000 cubic board metre medium-density fibreboard plant in Vadodara, Gujarat.” They expect the plant to ramp up production during FY24  and anticipate 65% utilisation in FY25, leading to strong growth in overall sales.

Post expansion, Chauhan & Chauhan expect net profit to grow at a CAGR of 35% over FY23-25 and estimate the plant’s revenue potential at Rs 600-650 crore at its peak. They also predict free cash flows will remain strong and net debt will fall sharply during FY24-25, as the company has no major capex plans. According to the analysts, Greenply is a dominant player and its stock is trading at a significant discount, compared to Century Plyboards.

4. Tata Chemicals: Geojit BNP Paribas reiterates its ‘Buy’ call on this chemicals company with a target price of Rs 1,197, indicating an upside of 23%. In Q3FY23, the company’s profit rose 26% YoY to Rs 391 crore and revenue increased 31.6% YoY. Analysts from Geojit say, “The company posted decent earnings on account of stable demand, better realisations and cost management.” Tata Chemicals’  management expects soda ash demand to rise and supply to tighten in the coming quarters, which the analysts believe will lead to better realisations.

According to the analysts, “Despite recessionary pressure in multiple geographies, the company’s orders are fully booked and they expect a strong market for its products, aided by the Chinese market slowly opening up.” They are also optimistic about the  focus on capacity expansions, maximising plant utilisation and improving cost efficiency. 

5. Bharti Airtel: Anand Rathi maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on this Telecom Services provider with a target price of Rs 890, indicating an upside of 15.6%. Analysts at Anand Rathi believe that the firm’s revenue will continue to grow over the coming quarters, led by rising customer additions and improving margins. They are upbeat about the firm’s expansion plans as well. “It plans to expand to 40,000 rural areas in India and enhance its combined services (mobile, broadband, DTH, B2B) in existing top 150 cities through 5G rollout,” they add.

The analysts expect the firm’s average revenue per user (ARPU) to continue to grow and are bullish about the management’s plan to gradually increase it to Rs 300 in the medium term from Rs 193 in Q3FY23. They anticipate Bharti Airtel’s revenue to grow at a CAGR of 16.1% over FY22-25.  

Note: These recommendations are from various analysts and are not recommendations by Trendlyne.

(You can find all analyst picks here)