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Informist, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Motilal Oswal sees Hero MotoCorp volumes grow 6% over FY25-28

 

MUMBAI--1005 IST--Motilal Oswal Financial Services has reiterated its 'buy' recommendation on Hero MotoCorp with a target price of INR 6,782, indicating an over 18% upside from Tuesday's close. The brokerage expects the company's volume to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of around 6% over 2024-25 (Apr-Mar) and FY28, driven by new launches and a ramp-up in exports. The company will also benefit from a gradual recovery in rural demand, given strong brand equity in the economy and executive segments, the brokerage said in a report after its meeting with the company's management.  

 

The company's revenue is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of around 10% over FY26-FY28 and its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation is expected to grow around 12% over the same period, Motilal Oswal said. The brokerage also expects the company's profit after tax to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of around 13% over FY26-FY28. 

 

"Demand for 2Ws (two-wheelers) has picked up well post-GST (goods and services tax) rate cuts, and it is expected to be sustained," the report said, citing the company's management. The demand has been broad-based, with healthy growth visible across all segments. The management expects demand in the entry-level segment to be sustained, given the positive rural sentiment, while recovering its lost share in the 125-cubic-centimetre engine capacity segment, aided by healthy feedback for its recent launches such as the Glamour upgrade and the Xtreme125R dual-channel ABS variant. Overall, the management has maintained its volume growth guidance of 8-10% for the two-wheeler industry in Oct-Mar. The company is also seeing a pick-up in its exports business and expects its market share to increase to 10% by March from around 8% currently. 

 

After outperforming its peers over the last few months, Hero MotoCorp now aims to reach 9% retail market share in scooters by March. So far this year, the company's market share in the domestic scooter segment has improved 80 basis points on year to 5.9%. Similarly, it expects to grow its market share in electric vehicles to 14-15% by March-end from 12% so far this year. Further, with its recent price hike of 10% and expectations of receiving the production-linked incentive eligibility certificate in the March quarter, along with its aggressive cost reduction initiatives, the management aims to have a positive contribution to electric vehicles by the June quarter of the next fiscal. "It is likely to take about 15–18 months for the segment to become EBITDA-positive in EVs after that," the report said, citing the company. 

 

The company's management also indicated that while it has fully passed on the GST rate cut benefit to consumers, it has taken this opportunity to reduce discounts on its products. The company has used this lever to increase its promotions across different brands. At 1000 IST, shares of Hero MotoCorp were 0.6% lower at INR 5,709 per share. (Arya S. Biju)

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Equity Alert: Ajanta Pharma hits 5-month high after signing pact with Biocon

 

MUMBAI--1000 IST--Shares of Ajanta Pharma rose nearly 5% to a five-month high of INR 2,793.6, after it signed a pact with Biocon to market Semaglutide. This is the third time in the last four sessions that the stock was higher.

 

The company signed an in-licensing agreement with Biocon for Semaglutide, which is a GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonist. Under the agreement, the biopharmaceutical company will supply Semaglutide to Ajanta Pharma for exclusive marketing in 23 countries and semi-exclusive marketing in three countries across Africa, West Asia, and Central Asia. Ajanta plans to commercialise the products after receiving regulatory approvals, which are expected in late 2026 or early 2027.

 

At 0942 IST, shares of the company traded almost 4% higher at INR 2,772.30 on the National Stock Exchange. Over 264,000 shares of the company changed hands on the NSE, higher than over 12,000 shares traded till the same time Tuesday.  

 

All the 11 brokerage recommendations available with Informist on the company have a 'buy' recommendation on the stock with an average target price of INR 3,112.  (Arundathi A R)

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Equity Alert: Mkts tad up in early trade as fincl svcs, pvt sector bks rise

 

MUMBAI--0940 IST--The Nifty 50 was marginally higher, after falling into the negative territory in the opening minutes of trade. Information technology stocks extended their decline from the previous session, when investors had booked profits from a recent surge. Coal India continued to gain and was the best performing Nifty 50 constituent. Gains in select private sector banks and financial services stocks supported the 50-stock index. Equity markets will be shut Thursday due to the Christmas holiday.

 

At 0937 IST, the Nifty 50 was at 26220.15 points, up 43 points or 0.2%. Analysts expect the Nifty 50 to face resistance around 26310 points, crossing which, the index may continue to move up to 26500–26700 points in the near term. The BSE Sensex was at 85661.31 points, up 136.47 points or 0.2%.

 

Financial services and bank stocks aided the Nifty 50 index with shares of Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finance, and Jio Financial Services rising 1–2%. Shares of HDFC Bank were up 0.2% and Axis Bank rose 0.6%.

 

Shares of Coal India were up more than 2% after the company's board gave its in-principle approval to the plan for listing its largest and second-largest coal-producing subsidiaries, Mahanadi Coalfields and South Eastern Coalfields, respectively. Other energy companies such as NTPC, Power Grid Corp. of India, and Oil and Natural Gas Corp. were also trading higher, extending gains from Tuesday. Premier Energies was among the best performing Nifty 200 stock and its shares rose nearly 3%. 

 

Meanwhile, shares of IT companies such as Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, and Wipro declined 0.2% to almost 1%. Among the Nifty 200 constituents, Coforge and Persistent Systems fell around 1?ch.

 

Among other stocks, Ajanta Pharma was up 4% after it announced a licensing agreement with Biocon for semaglutide, a GLP-1 (Glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonist. Under the agreement, Biocon will supply semaglutide to Ajanta Pharma for exclusive marketing in 23 countries and semi-exclusive marketing in three countries across Africa, West Asia and Central Asia.  (Eshitva Prakash)

 

 

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Equity Alert: Nuvama cuts Kajaria Ceramics' price aim on governance concerns

 

MUMBAI--0825 IST--Nuvama Wealth Management has cut the price-to-earnings multiple of Kajaria Ceramics due to concerns about governance after the chief financial officer of one of its subsidiaries siphoned INR 200 million. The brokerage now values Kajaria 20?low its 10-year average forward price-to-earnings multiple, cutting the one-year forward multiple to 28 times from 33 times earlier.

 

The lower target multiple led to a decline of 12% in Kajaria Ceramics' target price to INR 1,160 per share while the brokerage maintained its 'hold' recommendation on the stock. On Tuesday, shares of Kajaria Ceramics closed at INR 1,015.60 on NSE, down over 3%.

 

The company has been under scrutiny after Kajaria Bathware's CFO's fraud came to light last week. "...the quantum of the fraud shall not have any material impact on the financial statements. However, it does raise questions about the checks and balances in place," Nuvama Wealth said. "The company should initiate steps to have a robust internal control system."

 

The brokerage has not changed its earnings estimates considering the size of the fraud will not have material impact on financials. It expects the company's adjusted profit to rise over 85% in 2025-26 (Apr-Mar), and nearly 13% in FY27. Its revenue is likely to rise just over 4% in FY26 and nearly 8% in FY27, estimates showed.

 

The brokerage said the company's cost-cutting measures earlier this year, including unifying sales teams, cutting travel expenses, and optimising raw material costs, will aid earnings growth. "Amid a slowdown and volume pressures, Kajaria Ceramics continues to focus on market share gains," Nuvama said.  (Anshul Choudhary)

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Equity Alert: Asian indices open mixed ahead of Christmas Eve holiday

 

MUMBAI--0818 IST--Asian equity indices opened mixed, with several of them set to close early due to the Christmas Eve holiday. Japan's Nikkei 225 and South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.2?ch in early trade. 

 

Japanese public broadcaster NHK said the country was set to issue about $190 billion in new government bonds to fund its fiscal 2026 budget, CNBC reported. Meanwhile, minutes of Bank of Japan's October meeting showed that policymakers debated the need to continue raising interest rates to levels deemed neutral to the economy with some arguing doing so would help achieve long-term, stable growth, Reuters reported.

 

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was up 0.3%, but China's CSI 300 Index was down 0.3%. The latter fell after rising for three straight sessions. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index was down 0.5%. The index snapped a four-day winning streak. Hong Kong and Australian markets are expected to close early. 

 

Spot gold prices hit another record Wednesday, crossing $4,500 per ounce for the first time. The gold touched a series of all-time highs this year, soaring over 70% year to date, CNBC reported. US futures were trading near the flatline in early Asian hours. Overnight, Wall Street posted gains as artificial intelligence-related stocks continued the rally, as per the CNBC report. 

 

Following were the levels of key Asian indices at 0743 IST: 

 

Level	Last	Change in %
CSI 300 Index	4610.63	(-)0.22
S&P/ ASX 200 INDEX	8744.8	(-)0.58
FTSE Singapore Strait Times	4631.66	(-)0.16
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3418.4	(-)0.14
SSE Composite Index	3918.24	(-)0.04
KOSPI	4126.08	0.21
Nikkei 225 Day	50542.64	0.26

 

(Adhithya Aji)

 

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Equity Alert: Nifty 50 may open tad up, sentiment weak amid mixed global cues

 

MUMBAI--0813 IST--The Nifty 50 index is expected to open slightly higher Wednesday after closing largely flat in the previous session. Sentiment, however, remains weak amid mixed global cues. Uncertainty around the India-US trade deal timeline, global trade negotiations and the trajectory of the rupee are expected to continue to impact market sentiment, analysts said.

 

On Wednesday, the Nifty 50 index is seen finding support at 26110 points and facing resistance at 26200-26250 levels, Anshul Jain, head of research at Lakshmishree Investment and Securities, said. He expects some profit booking during the session after its recent gains. The GIFT Nifty contracts suggest the Nifty 50 may open largely flat or with minor gains. At 0756 IST, the December contract of the GIFT Nifty was at 26235.50 points, over 58 points above the Nifty 50's close on Tuesday. The Nifty 50 ended at 26177.15 points on Tuesday, just 4.75 points above the previous close.

Overnight, major US indices closed higher, extending gains for the fourth straight session, as artificial intelligence-related stocks continued to outperform during a holiday-shortened week. Traders continue to bet on two interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve next year, even after the better-than-expected US GDP data.

 

The Commerce Department reported that the US economy grew at a 4.3% annualised rate in the third quarter, much better than the 3.2% estimated by a Dow Jones poll. Meanwhile, other economic data from the region painted a less rosy image of the economy as US consumer confidence weakened in December amid deepening anxiety over jobs and income. Factory production was unchanged in November after declining in October.

 

Asian indices opened largely mixed Wednesday as several indices are set to close early for Christmas Eve. Japan's Nikkei 225, was up 0.3%, while the Topix traded 0.1% lower. South Korea's Kospi and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.2-0.3% higher, while mainland China's CSI 300 was down 0.1%. (Arya S. Biju)

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Equity Alert: US indices end higher Tue as rally in tech stocks continues

 

MUMBAI--0733 IST--US equity indices ended higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record high, supported by a rally in artificial intelligence-related stocks. US GDP data for the third quarter came in well above expectations, prompting investors to bet on lower chances of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.2% higher and the Nasdaq Composite ended 0.6% higher Tuesday. 

 

The commerce department said that US GDP expanded at a 4.3% annualised rate in the third quarter, the most since the third quarter of 2023, Reuters reported. This print was also above the 3.3% estimate of economists polled by Reuters. According to the CME Fedwatch tool, there is an 85.6% chance of status quo by the Federal Reserve in January, while the odds of a rate cut are 14.4%.

 

AI-related stocks fell last week due to a selloff triggered by concerns about inflated valuations and worries that high capital spending by technology companies would exert pressure on their profits. The stocks rebounded and added to gains in the indices in the holiday-shortened week, as per the Reuters report. Tech giant Nvidia rose 3%, the biggest boost to the S&P 500 index. Stocks of Amazon, Alphabet, and Broadcom rose over 1?ch. 

  

Following are the closing levels of US indices Monday:

 

Index	Level	Change in %
S&P 500	6909.79	0.46
NASDAQ Composite	23561.84	0.57
Dow Jones Industrial Average	48442.41	0.16

 

(Adhithya Aji)

 

US$1 = INR 89.71

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

All prices from National Stock Exchange, unless otherwise specified.

All percentage changes for share prices are rounded off to the nearest whole number; percentage changes for index values are rounded off to one decimal place.

All times are Indian Standard Time.

 

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NYSE: New York Stock Exchange
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RBI: Reserve Bank of India

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