Five Interesting Stocks Today

This pharmaceuticals company hit its 52-week high of Rs 1,184.7 on Friday. It has increased by 5.7% in the past month, outperforming its industry. During the month, the company acquired five legacy brands and their associated trademark rights from Menarini for Rs 101 crore. It has also proposed transferring its two active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) manufacturing sites at Dabhasa and Visakhapatnam to its arm, Lupin Manufacturing Solutions, for which it expects to get Rs 750-850 crore.

In early September, Lupin inked a deal with Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company to improve healthcare accessibility in the US by expanding the availability of tiotropium bromide inhalation powder. In addition, the firm’s arm acquired the entire stake in French pharmaceutical company Medisol for 14.5 million euros.

In Q1FY24, Lupin reported a net profit of Rs 452.3 crore, as against a loss of Rs 89.1 crore in Q1FY23 (beating Trendlyne Forecaster’s estimate by 84%). Its revenue also increased by 29% (beating estimates by 6.8%), thanks to strong sales growth in India, North America, and EMEA. The company also features in a screener for stocks with good quarterly growth in the recent results. The management expects the company’s robust pipeline of products, such as gSpiriva and diazepam gel, and other key launches like Prolensa to drive earnings growth in FY24 and beyond.

Axis Securities recommends a ‘Buy’ call on Lupin on the back of new product launches, double-digit growth in its India business, and an improving API business. The brokerage believes that the company’s margin has scope for improvement in the coming quarters as its margins at 13% are still below the industry average of 22%.

2. NBCC:

This construction & engineering firm has been making headlines with its recent announcement of selling its property in New Delhi's World Trade Centre for Rs 5,716 crore through an e-auction. It has also secured orders worth Rs 2,000 crore from the Kerala Housing Board. In the past week, the company touched its 52-week high of Rs 63.6 following an order win worth Rs 150 crore from the Khadi & Village Industries Commission. As of September 2023, the company’s order book stands at Rs 45,000 crore. According to Trendlyne Technicals, the company's stock price surged by 15% in the past month. However, the stock’s long-term price change remains volatile.

NBCC’s Q1FY24 net profit stands at Rs 75.1 crore, as compared to a net loss of Rs 6.3 crore in Q1FY23. However, its revenue growth of 6.6% YoY missed expectations due to weakened performance in the PMC segment and a drop in real estate sales. As a result, the company's EBITDA margin in Q1FY24 fell by 32 bps YoY to 3.2%, primarily driven by increased input costs.

Despite these setbacks, the management is targeting a revenue of Rs 9,000 crore (Rs 8,961 crore in FY23) for FY24. It also expects order inflows ranging from Rs 11,000 crore to Rs 12,000 crore, including an expected Rs 8,000 crore order from Amrapali Housing. NBCC aims to monetise its remaining unsold inventory of Nauroji Nagar (Rs 5,400 crore) and Sarojini Nagar (Rs 1,300 crore), targeting a total of Rs 5,300 crore in FY24.

Geojit projects that the speed at which NBCC monetises its real estate assets in redevelopment projects will be crucial for top-line growth. The brokerage also believes that tendering activities will continue to play a key role in unlocking revenue potential in the near future.

3. Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Healthcare:

This personal products company has risen by 4.6% in the past week, following an analyst call on September 22. The stock touched its all-time high of Rs 18,597.9 per share on Friday, helping it enter a screener of stocks with high momentum scores. This uptick is on the back of the management projecting healthy growth in the rural segment.

Currently, the urban segment accounts for almost 65% of the company’s total revenue, while the rural segment contributes less than 35%. The firm’s management aims to increase sales of brands like Whispers and Vicks Vaporub in the rural segment through educational drives and awareness campaigns. LV Vaidyanathan, Managing Director of the company, said, “We expect mid-single-digit volume growth over the next four to five years, with net profit outpacing revenue growth.”

Motilal Oswal Financial Services maintains its ‘Neutral’ rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 16,940 per share, after the analyst call. This indicates a potential downside of 5.6%. The brokerage believes the company has an attractive long-term outlook, aided by growth in the feminine hygiene segment and improvement in profitability through premiumisation. However, in the near term, its valuations are high, which explains the downside target. It expects the company’s net profit to grow at a CAGR of 14.3% over FY22-25. Trendlyne’s Forecaster also expects its revenue and net profit to grow by 18.6% and 22.1%, respectively, in FY24.

4. Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX):

This commodity derivatives exchange surged over 8% intraday on Thursday, touching a new 52-week high on Friday. The spike comes after MCX announced a new commodity derivatives platform set to launch on October 3. The platform, which was previously handled by 63 Moons, will be serviced by TCS. MCX dominates the commodity derivatives space with a 96% market share and an average daily turnover of approximately Rs 80,000 crore.

However, a curveball from SEBI on Friday proposes to put the new platform’s launch on hold, causing the stock to tumble by over 2%. The company will continue mock tests while waiting for further directions from SEBI.

MCX’s share price has risen by 17.2% over the past week till Friday, ahead of the launch. This has helped the company turn up in a screener of stocks with prices above short, medium and long-term moving averages.

HDFC Securities is optimistic about MCX’s growth prospects, citing increased trading volumes and new product launches. It also expects profitability to improve as the company shifts to the new platform, which will cut software support costs. The brokerage maintains its 'Buy' rating and raises the target price by 34.8% to Rs 2,400.

In Q1FY24, MCX's net profit declined by 52.5% YoY to Rs 19.7 crore due to increased software support charges and product license fees. However, Its revenue grew by 34% to Rs 145.8 crore during the same period, led by an improvement in ADT (average daily turnover) of options contracts. According to Trendlyne’s Forecaster, MCX’s revenue is expected to grow by 14.9% in FY24.

5. Triveni Turbine:

This turbine manufacturer touched its 52-week high of Rs 456.6 on Thursday and rose by 6.7% from Monday till Friday. This rally comes on the back of a healthy business outlook, driven by increasing demand for energy turbines in domestic and international markets. The company commands a market share of 60% in India’s industrial steam turbine segment. The management is optimistic about achieving strong order inflows in FY24. It expects this growth to be driven by rising exports and aftermarket business (sales of parts and services).

In Q1FY24, Triveni Turbines’ revenue from exports grew by 88% YoY, making up 48% of its overall revenue. The share of exports increased by 11 percentage points YoY. This robust growth trajectory of exports is expected to continue as the company focuses on expanding its sales network and supply chain. According to Trendlyne’s Forecaster, the firm’s revenue and net profit are expected to grow by 34.6% and 37.7% YoY in FY24, respectively. It also shows up in a screener for companies with improving net cash flow over the past two years.

Notably, the company already has the capacity to meet growing demand, eliminating the need for major capex in the coming quarters. Sharekhan expects the firm’s margins to improve on the back of falling raw material costs and a growing aftermarket business. It adds that the firm has no debt and a healthy cash balance of Rs 747 crore, which makes it well-placed to expand into newer markets. The consensus recommendation on the stock from five analysts is ‘Buy’, with four recommending a ‘Strong Buy’ and one calling for a ‘Buy’.

Trendlyne's analysts identify stocks that are seeing interesting price movements, analyst calls, or new developments. These are not buy recommendations.