Author: Sarita Jena

Shares of Havells India are likely to catch attention on Friday, January 17, after the company shared its Q3 earnings for FY25. The net profit showed a small drop of 1.7% compared to last year, reaching Rs 283 crore, down from Rs 288 crore in Q3FY24. On a positive note, the company’s net revenue grew by 11%, reaching Rs 4,883 crore, up from Rs 4,401 crore during the same period last year.

Breaking it down by segments:
– Switchgears grew by 10.8% to Rs 577 crore.
– Cables increased by 7.3%.
– Lighting & Fixtures saw a growth of 2.5%.
– Electrical Consumer Durables surged by 15%.
– Other segments rose by a substantial 22.8%.

Additionally, Havells announced an interim dividend of Rs 4 per share for its shareholders, with the record date set for January 22.

Here’s what some brokerages are saying after the company’s update:

UBS: Buy | Target Price: Rs 2,145 | Upside Potential: 37.7%
UBS keeps a “Buy” rating on Havells, setting a target price of Rs 2,145. They noted that weak consumer demand might impact earnings.

JPMorgan: Neutral | Target Price: Rs 1,750 | Upside Potential: 12.4%
JPMorgan maintained a “Neutral” rating due to earnings below expectations caused by margin pressures. They observed muted growth in the Cables & Wires segment due to soft copper prices.

Nuvama: Buy | Target Price: Rs 1,940 | Upside Potential: 24.5%
Nuvama holds a “Buy” rating with a target price of Rs 1,940. They mention that Havells showed good revenue growth, but higher employee and operational costs affected profits.

Stay tuned, as more companies like Wipro and Jio Financial are also announcing their Q3 results today!

On January 17, HFCL shares are in the spotlight after the company won a big project worth about Rs 2,501.30 crore. This money is for building and taking care of a telecom network called BharatNet Phase III in Punjab. They received the contract from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

The project will involve designing, supplying, constructing, installing, upgrading, operating, and maintaining the network. HFCL will follow a method called Design, Build, Operate, and Maintain (DBOM) to complete the work in three years. After that, they will take care of the network for another ten years, with costs expected to be 5.5% of the project’s cost for the first five years and 6.5% for the next five years.

Here’s how the money is broken down: Rs 1,244.61 crore is for building costs (capital expenditure), Rs 746.76 crore for operating costs for the new network, and Rs 509.94 crore for maintaining the current network.

Stock Performance and Technical Indicators
Currently, the HFCL stock has been facing some tough times, dropping by 26% in the last three months. However, over the last two years, it has managed to rise by 40%. Right now, the company’s market value is Rs 14,773 crore.

Looking at its technical indicators, the stock’s Relative Strength Index (RSI), which measures how overvalued or undervalued it is, stands at 38.7. Generally, an RSI below 30 means a stock is oversold, while above 70 indicates it’s overbought. The MACD reading is -5.6, suggesting the stock is bearish right now.

Also, HFCL shares are trading below several key averages, meaning they are currently not doing too well compared to past performances.

LTIMindtree’s shares will be important on Friday, January 17, after the company shared its earnings for the last quarter. Here’s what you need to know:

– Profit Drop: For the quarter ending December 31, 2024, LTIMindtree’s net profit fell by 7.1%, reaching Rs 1,085 crore compared to Rs 1,169 crore last year.
– Revenue Growth: The company’s revenue grew by 7.1% to Rs 9,661 crore in this quarter, up from Rs 9,017 crore in the same period last year. But, when compared to the previous quarter, the profit after tax fell by 13.2% from Rs 1,251 crore.
– Dollar Revenue: LTIMindtree earned $1,138.7 million, showing a small increase of 1.1% from the last quarter and a bigger rise of 5.1% compared to last year.
– Operating Margin: The earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) margin was at 13.8%, but this dropped by 170 basis points from the previous quarter, mainly due to wage increases.

Positive Outlook: Global investment firm Macquarie still rates LTIMindtree as ‘Outperform’ with a target price of Rs 7,100. They believe that despite some challenges, including problems with a top client, the company has potential for growth, especially as demand is expected to rise in 2025.

LTIMindtree’s CEO Comments: Debashis Chatterjee, the CEO, mentioned, “We have recorded our highest-ever order inflow of USD 1.68 billion, thanks to our investments in AI and new partnerships. This gives us a strong path for growth as we move into 2025.”

Segment Revenue Details:
– Banking, financial services, and insurance brought in 36.4%.
– Technology, media, and communications contributed 23.7%.
– Manufacturing & resources gave 19.3%.
– The consumer business made up 14.3%.

HDFC Securities has a “sell” recommendation for Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL), setting a target price of Rs 235. Currently, the stock is trading at Rs 273.6. ABFRL was founded in 2007 and is a large company with a market value of Rs 29,183.83 crore. They sell clothing, home goods, and accessories.

For the quarter ending September 30, 2024, ABFRL reported a total income of Rs 3,695.41 crore, which is a 6.32% increase from the previous quarter and a 12.93% rise from the same time last year. However, they reported a net loss of Rs 214.70 crore this quarter.

The management team includes well-known figures like Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla and Ms. Preeti Vyas. The company’s auditor is S R B C & Co. LLP. ABFRL has 107 crore shares available for investors.

HDFC Securities predicts that ABFRL’s revenue will grow by 12% year-over-year to Rs 36.6 billion. They expect strong performance from brands like Madura and Pantaloons, predicting 9.7% and 12% growth, respectively, in Q3. The brokerage is estimating a 14.4% profit margin in Q3FY25, up from 13.3% in Q3FY24.

HDFC forecasts the company’s earnings per share (EPS) for the next few years to be Rs 39.3 for FY24, Rs 37.4 for FY25, and Rs 55.5 for FY26. They also expect the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio to be 88, 92, and 62 in those years, respectively.

As of September 30, 2024, the promoters own 49.25% of ABFRL, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) own 19.68%, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) own 14.72%.

On Thursday, January 16, GAIL (India) Ltd will be the center of attention. The company just announced a big deal with SEFE Marketing & Trading Singapore Pte Ltd that settles their ongoing disagreements.

Here’s what you need to know:

– Settlement Amount: SEFE Marketing will pay GAIL $285 million.
– No More Court Drama: This deal means that both sides will stop their arguments in the London Court of International Arbitration.

GAIL also shared its earnings for the second quarter of the year, showing some ups and downs:

– Profit: GAIL earned Rs 2,672 crore this quarter, which is 11% more than last year.
– Revenue: The company’s earnings from sales rose 3.5% to Rs 32,931 crore.
– However, their gas marketing business did not do so well, with profits dropping by 26% to Rs 1,329 crore. The gas transmission business, on the other hand, did better, increasing profits by 8% to Rs 1,403 crore.

Target Price: Analysts predict GAIL’s stock could reach Rs 232, suggesting it might go up by 30% from where it is now.

Current Stock Performance: GAIL shares closed at Rs 178, up 1.2% on the stock market. While the stock has dropped 25% in the past six months, it has gained 85% over the last two years. The company’s total market value is Rs 1,17,036 crore.

Hindenburg Research, a company that looked into business wrongdoings, has announced that it is shutting down. Nate Anderson, the founder, shared the news on Wednesday. He mentioned that they had decided to close the company after wrapping up their latest projects, which included some investigations into financial fraud.

Hindenburg Research was started by Nate Anderson in 2017. It focused on finding problems in companies, like mistakes in their money records or bad management. They often made money by betting against companies that they thought were doing something wrong. The company was named after the Hindenburg airship, which had a famous crash in 1937.

Nate Anderson studied international business at the University of Connecticut and began his career at FactSet Research Systems. He worked with companies that managed investments. He wanted to do more than just regular analysis, which he found boring. He even drove an ambulance in Israel for a short time, saying it taught him how to act quickly under pressure. Anderson looked up to Harry Markopolos, the person who first uncovered Bernie Madoff’s fraud.

Since its start, Hindenburg Research has pointed out possible issues in over 16 companies.

On Thursday, January 16, CEAT, a company that makes tyres, announced that it has made less money this past quarter. CEAT’s profits dropped by about 46% to Rs 97.03 crore compared to Rs 181.28 crore last year. The main reason for this drop is due to high costs for raw materials.

But it wasn’t all bad news. CEAT’s total income from sales went up to Rs 3,299.9 crore, which is more than last year’s Rs 2,963.14 crore. However, their total expenses also increased to Rs 3,175.58 crore from Rs 2,738.53 crore a year earlier. This means they spent a lot more money, especially on materials, which cost Rs 2,116.52 crore, rising from Rs 1,694.91 crore last year.

Arnab Banerjee, the CEO of CEAT, said that while the higher costs affected their profits, they managed to increase prices in some product categories to help cover those costs. He mentioned that their sales grew significantly thanks to the replacement segment, meaning customers continue buying new tyres to replace old ones.

Looking to the future, Banerjee said that demand for their tyres remains strong, and they have a good number of orders. He expects the prices for raw materials to stay stable in the next quarter.

As for CEAT’s stock, experts say it has potential. Trendlyne’s data shows that the average target price for CEAT shares is Rs 3,456. This means the stock could go up by around 13% from where it is now. Out of 17 analysts, most have suggested buying the stock.

Recently, CEAT shares closed at Rs 3,057, which is a 0.5% increase. Over the last six months, the stock has increased by 12% and by 82% in the past two years. Currently, CEAT has a market value of Rs 12,367 crore.

The Indian stock market is expected to rise on Thursday, thanks to positive signals from around the world. The India VIX, which measures how much the market might move, fell by 1.1% to 15.30. This shows that investors feel a bit calmer. When the VIX is above 15, it often means there’s more market chaos.

Data from the stock market suggests a cautious mood among investors. Many are writing call options, indicating some fear. There has been a significant increase in contracts for the 23,300-level call options, which could act as a resistance level. Also, the 23,200 put options are gaining popularity, showing that this level is a strong support point.

Dhupesh Dhameja, an analyst at SAMCO Securities, noted, “The high activity between the 23,200 and 23,300 levels indicates a fight between buyers and sellers. The rise in call options suggests that 23,300 is a tough barrier for prices to go up.”

The Put-Call Ratio (PCR) dropped to 0.72 from 0.79, indicating a steady market attitude. The ‘max pain’ level at 23,300 shows that there may not be much chance for the prices to go down in the immediate future.

“If the prices break past 23,300, we might see a rally towards 23,500. However, if they fall below 23,000, we could see them drop to 22,800. Right now, a good strategy is to buy near support and sell near resistance until something more definite happens,” suggested Dhameja.

For those looking to trade in the short term, here are some stock recommendations from various experts:

From Rajesh Palviya, VP-Technical & Derivative Research, Axis Securities:
– BSE: Buy | Target Rs 6480 | Stop Loss Rs 5550
– Elecon Engineering: Buy | Target Rs 700 | Stop Loss Rs 585
– Navin Fluorine International: Buy | Target Rs 4185 | Stop Loss Rs 3590
– Goldiam International Ltd: Buy | Target Rs 665 | Stop Loss Rs 474

From Nooresh Merani, Independent Technical Analyst:
– Indus Tower: Buy | Target Rs 375 | Stop Loss Rs 340
– Power Grid: Buy | Target Rs 320 | Stop Loss Rs 295
– JM Financial: Buy | Target Rs 135 | Stop Loss Rs 115