1. Bharti Hexacom:
This telecom services company surged 8.5% on March 11 after Motilal Oswal initiated a ‘Buy’ call with a target price of Rs 1,625, citing its long-term growth potential and market leadership in key regions.
Bharti Hexacom, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, provides mobile and broadband services in Rajasthan and the Northeast under the Airtel brand. The company reported a 22.7% rise in net profit to Rs 260.9 crore for Q3FY24, driven by average revenue per user (ARPU) and subscriber growth. Revenue grew 23.2% YoY to Rs 2,295.7 crore. ARPU improved to Rs 204 from Rs 189, supported by premiumization, higher data usage, and increased postpaid adoption.
The company has a competitive edge over Bharti Airtel due to its presence in under-penetrated circles. These regions have a mobile connection rate below 70%, compared to the national average of about 85%. Hexacom holds around 38% of total mobile users in these areas, higher than Airtel’s 33% across India.
Bharti Hexacom is also expanding its home broadband services, adding 44,000 new broadband customers in Q3FY25, taking the total customer base to 40 lakh, supported by the expansion of Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and fiber broadband to 110 cities.
Bharti Hexacom plans to transfer 3,400 telecom towers to Indus Towers, and Bharti Airtel will transfer around 12,700. Gopal Vittal, Managing Director of Bharti Airtel, said, “ Our belief is that this business is best managed by Indus, since they know how to do this better than us.”
While EBITDA margins may decline due to rental payments (to Indus Towers for using the towers), the cash inflow from the deal could be used for spectrum dues repayment, expanding fiber and FWA networks.
Despite its strengths, Hexacom faces risks from intense competition in the sector, limiting tariff hikes and profitability. Its operations are restricted to Rajasthan and North East, making it vulnerable to regional disruptions. Additionally, its reliance on Bharti Airtel for branding and infrastructure means any change in this relationship could impact operations.
2. Castrol India:
This lubricant manufacturer surged over 10% on March 6 after reports that Saudi Aramco is considering acquiring promoter BP’s 51% stake in the company. According to Bloomberg, Aramco is exploring a bid for part or all of BP’s lubricant business, which operates under the Castrol brand.
In Q4, Castrol reported revenue growth of 7% YoY with net profit up 12% YoY. While revenue aligned with estimates, net profit beat Forecaster estimates by 2.7%. This beat was driven by an EBITDA margin surge of 180 bps on a YoY basis, thanks to stable crude prices.
Lubricant volume grew 7% YoY, outperforming the market due to strong demand for its ‘Essential’ range and expansion into rural areas. CFO and Whole Time Director Deepesh Baxi expects Castrol to continue outpacing market growth, which is projected at 4% to 5%, while maintaining an EBITDA margin of 22-25%.
Currently, most of Castrol’s volume comes from commercial vehicles, the industrial segment and personal mobility, which includes cars and bikes. However, as electric vehicle adoption rises in India, the company plans to diversify beyond automobiles. Managing Director Kedar Lele highlights Castrol’s plan to make “coolants and transmission liquids and fluids for data centers,” along with a stronger focus on the commercial segment.
Motilal Oswal maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on Castrol as it expects volume growth and market share expansion driven by a broader distribution network and new product launches. Target price of Rs 260 indicates a potential upside of over 12%.
3. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries:
This pharmaceutical company gained over 6% over the past week. On March 10th, the company entered into an agreement to acquire Checkpoint Therapeutics, a US-based oncology focused, biotech firm, for $355 million (Rs 3,097.9 crore). ICICI Securities noted that Checkpoint's leading anti-PD-L1 drug, Unloxcyt (cosibelimab), has been approved by the USFDA for treating adults with metastatic or locally advanced skin cancer. The brokerage believes Unloxcyt will complement Sun Pharma's existing product portfolio.
The company announced its Q3FY25 results on January 31. In the quarter, its net profit grew 15.4% YoY to Rs 2,912.9 crore, helped by lower raw material costs. Revenue increased by 11.9%. The company’s net profit beat forecaster estimates by 0.5% and its revenue beat estimates by 2.1%, due to growth in its India formulation sales. It appears on the screener of companies having low debt.
The company’s management notes that for Japan they have shifted focus on growing the specialty business because the generic business has become very challenging. Kirti Ganorkar, CEO (India Business), Sun Pharma, said, “ In the Japanese generics market we have experienced a price decrease ranging from 5-7%, based on the product. So we are shifting focus to grow ILUMYA (a speciality drug used to treat moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis) business.”
Dilip Shanghvi, Chairman and MD of Sun Pharma, said, “Due to delays in clinical expenditures, our R&D spending is running below our guidance for the year. We now anticipate that the FY25 R&D spend will be under 7% of our sales.”
ICICI Securities has upgraded Sun Pharma to a ‘Buy’ rating, citing the company’s ongoing aggressive acquisition strategy to enhance its specialty portfolio. In March 2023, Sun Pharma acquired Concert Pharma, gaining access to the deuruxolitinib (Leqselvi) drug. The brokerage expects Sun's specialty portfolio to see significant growth in FY27-28 with the launches of Leqselvi and Unloxcyt. The target price of Rs 1,895 indicates an upside of over 12%.
4. Godrej Agrovet:
This agricultural products company has gained over 50% from its 52-week low of Rs 476. On March 12, Godrej Agrovet’s board approved the acquisition of an additional 48.1% stake in Creamline Dairy Products (CDPL) for a cash consideration of Rs 930 crore.
Creamline Dairy sells dairy products such as milk, curd, butter and cheese in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra under the 'Jersey' brand. Godrej Agrovet already owns a 51.9% stake in CDPL, and this acquisition will make it a wholly owned subsidiary.
This deal is expected to strengthen Godrej Agrovet’s presence in the dairy sector, expanding its value-added dairy portfolio through Creamline Dairy’s distribution network and product range.
Over the past month, Godrej Agrovet’s share price has risen by 1.8%, outperforming its industry by 9.7%. Godrej Agrovet’s net profit increased 21.4% YoY to Rs 111.5 crore in Q3FY25. Its revenue grew 4.5% YoY to Rs 2,449.6 crore during the quarter, led by improvements in the vegetable oil, dairy, and animal feed segments. EBITDA margins stood at 9.3%. The company has recently been focusing on value-added products to maintain stable margins. It projects EBITDA margins between 9-10% for FY26.
Meanwhile, during Q3, the vegetable oils segment saw a 38% YoY growth led by higher realizations in raw palm oil and palm kernel oil. The animal feed business grew by 1% YoY.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Balram Singh Yadav, the MD said, “Q4 is traditionally strong for us as rising temperatures boost the consumption of high-margin products like curd, buttermilk, lassi, and flavored milk. We expect Q4 to outperform Q3 in terms of overall performance."
Motilal Oswal reiterated its ‘Buy’ rating on Godrej Agrovet and set a target price of Rs 940. The brokerage sees margin expansion across businesses, driven by strategic initiatives, and expects strong performance in the animal feed and palm oil segments to continue.
5. Tata Power Company:
This electric utility firm’s subsidiary, Tata Power Renewable Energy, entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop up to 7,000 MW of renewable energy projects in Andhra Pradesh. This project includes solar, wind, and hybrid initiatives and requires an estimated investment of Rs 49,000 crore.
On February 25, the company signed a similar agreement with the Assam Government to support 5,000 MW of renewable energy projects, with an investment of Rs 30,000 crore over the next five years. Additionally, on February 28, Tata Power secured a Rs 632 crore contract from the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI). The contract involves supplying 293 Megawatt-peak (MWp) Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) solar modules in Ramagiri, Andhra Pradesh.
In Q3, the company’s net profit rose 8.2% YoY to Rs 1,031 crore, driven by higher realizations in the transmission and distribution (T&D) business and improved capacity utilization at the Mundra thermal power plant. Revenue grew 5% YoY during the quarter. The company has incurred a capex of Rs 12,000 crore in 9MFY25 and plans to invest an additional Rs 10,000 crore in Q4, bringing the total capex for FY25 to around Rs 22,000 crore.
Praveer Sinha, MD & CEO, mentioned that this summer is expected to be more intense than last year, leading to higher power demand. Commenting on this, he said, "Peak demand could reach 265-270 GW. In February, it already crossed 230 GW, and summer hasn't even started". Trendlyne’s Forecaster estimates profit to increase 53.4% YoY in Q4FY25, with revenue growth of 23.7% YoY.
The company is interested in power distribution opportunities in Uttar Pradesh (UP), where two distribution companies (DISCOMs) are set for privatization. Sinha stated that the company is actively pursuing this opportunity. He believes Tata Power’s experience in turning around Odisha DISCOMs, which saw a 37% YoY increase in net profit, can be an advantage.
Sharekhan has a ‘Buy’ rating on the company, and expects that Tata Power’s focus on renewables and transmission will drive growth. However, slower expansion in these segments and lower-than-expected profitability in the Solar EPC business pose risks. They expect renewables to contribute 50% of net profit by FY30, up from 21% currently.
Trendlyne's analysts identify stocks that are seeing interesting price movements, analyst calls, or new developments. These are not buy recommendations.
