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Informist, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026                                      Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

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Equity Alert: Morgan Stanley ups Titan target price 11% with overweight call

 

MUMBAI--0840 IST--Broking firm Morgan Stanley has maintained its 'overweight' recommendation on Titan Co. with a higher target price of INR 4,529. The brokerage raised the target price by over 11% from the previous target price of INR 4,062, driven by higher near-term earnings and three-month model roll forward, ET Now posted on social media, quoting the brokerage. 

 

The brokerage has raised its domestic jewellery growth outlook and tweaked its assumptions on the company's margin. It has raised estimates for Titan's revenue for 2025–26 (Apr-Mar) by 12%. The company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation and net profit estimates for FY26 were raised by 5% and 6%, respectively, ET Now posted, quoting Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley has raised its estimates for the company's earnings per share for FY27–28 by 2–3%. The brokerage has also raised Titan's bull-based valuation, base valuation, and bearish valuation by 9–12%.

 

Titan reported a net profit of INR 14.70 billion for the December quarter, which was up over 48% on year. Its revenue for the quarter was reported at INR 225.22 billion, up almost 40% on year. On Tuesday, shares of the company ended over 1% higher at INR 4,236.40 on NSE.   (Arundathi A R)

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Equity Alert: UBS trims ITC target price 6%, maintains 'buy' call

 

MUMBAI--0830 IST--Global Brokerage UBS has trimmed its target price on ITC by around 6% to INR 395 per share while maintaining its 'buy' call on the stock. Distribution checks indicate that a range of imminent price hikes are being implemented by the cigarette maker, CNBC TV18 said in a post on 'X', citing the brokerage.

Price hikes have been fully passed on in the premium cigarette segment and minimal price hikes have been made in the price-sensitive 69 millimetre and 64 millimetre segments, according to the post. The pricing approach is likely to minimise the impact on volumes and earnings before interest and tax. 

 

The company is expected to increase the price of its 84 millimetre cigarettes to INR 24 per stick from INR 17 per stick, UBS said. The price of its 69 millimetre Gold Flake is yet to be announced, and is expected to be around INR 12 per stick, it said.

 

Of the 14 brokerage reports on the company available with Informist, five have a 'buy' or equivalent recommendation on the stock with an average target price of INR 377. Another five have a 'hold' or equivalent recommendation on the stock with an average target price of INR 355 and the remaining four have a 'sell' or equivalent recommendation with an average target price of INR 328.  (Arya S. Biju)

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Equity Alert: Indices seen in range; investors continue to focus on IT cos

 

MUMBAI--0820 IST--Benchmark equity indices are expected to be in a range and information technology companies will be in focus as they may be key to determining the market's direction. Analysts have said that recent artificial intelligence-related partnerships have dispelled some fears about traditional software makers losing ground to AI tools. However, some analysts have added that future revenue of these companies will hinge on how quickly they adapt to the changing landscape of the IT industry. Metal stocks will be in focus yet again, amid thin trading volume due to the Lunar New Year holidays in multiple East Asian countries.

 

"It is difficult to quantify the real impact of AI on the IT services business, as the timing of potential headwinds from AI-led productivity gains and tailwinds from modernisation and new AI-led spending remain uncertain at this stage of the cycle," Emkay Global Financial Services said. It believes it is simplistic to assume that AI can generate enterprise-grade code and replace IT Services companies. Enterprise systems are complex and adoption is expected to remain gradual, Emkay Global said. However, it said that if AI agents start coding on their own, the link between human effort, time, and company revenue starts to weaken. "The concern is not that demand disappears, but that the revenue per unit of work compresses as automation rises."

Shares of defence companies will be in focus after French President Emmanuel Macron said France would work with India on fifth-generation fighter jets, submarines, and high-speed railways. France will also work with India on innovation and technology transfer, he said. India and France have agreed to remove double taxation on companies and individuals in a move aimed at boosting trade, investment, and mobility, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said. 

 

At 0809 IST, the GIFT Nifty 50 indicated a slightly higher start for the Nifty 50, with the February contract of the GIFT Nifty being 35 points higher than the Nifty 50's previous close. On Tuesday, the Nifty 50 index closed 0.2% higher at 25725.40 points. The BSE Sensex closed at 83450.96 points, up 0.2%.

 

Overnight, indices in the US ended slightly higher after a recovery in technology stocks and financial services. However, despite the rebound in technology companies, software stocks remained under pressure, and the S&P 500 software index ended 1.6% lower. On Wednesday, indices in Asia were higher in early trade, with Japan's Nikkei 225 and the broader Topix advancing over 1?ch. Equity markets in China and South Korea were closed due to Lunar New Year holidays.  (Eshitva Prakash)

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Equity Alert: Asian indices higher, Australian index on 3-day winning streak

 

MUMBAI--0812 IST--Equity markets in Asia were higher on Wednesday, with those in Japan poised to snap a losing streak spanning multiple sessions and the market in Australia set to record a third consecutive session of gains. Stock markets in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea remained closed on account of the Lunar New Year.

 

Markets in Asia were resilient against renewed concerns about artificial intelligence that have grasped global markets, Reuters reported. The concerns stem from the amount of capital companies are spending on AI along with the extent to which the technology could disrupt labour markets. "AI uncertainty remains a source of volatility, both in terms of the difficulty in assessing which AI companies will be the winners and losers but also what sort of impact will AI have in other companies and sectors of the economy," NAB analysts were reported as saying. 

 

After the talks between Iran and the US, the foreign minister of the West Asian country said the two parties had reached an understanding over the main "guiding principles" to resolve the longstanding nuclear dispute between them. This has eased tensions about a military conflict and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has the potential to disrupt global oil supply, Reuters reported. 

 

Japan plans to invest $36 billion in US oil, gas, and mineral projects, CNBC TV-18 reported. This is the first tranche of the $550 billion pledged by Japan under the agreement with US President Donald Trump.

 

Following are the levels of key Asian indices at 0810 IST:

 

INDEX	LEVEL	CHANGE IN %
Nikkei 225 Day	57269.37	1.24
TOPIX FIRST SECTION	3811.25	1.32
S&P/ASX 200 Index	8985.40	0.30
IDX Composite	8285.50	0.89

 

(Akshat Saksena)

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Equity Alert: US indices end higher after break for Presidents' Day

 

MUMBAI--0739 IST--Equity indices in the US rose on Tuesday, after a break on Monday on account of Presidents' Day. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index ended higher for the second straight session and the NASDAQ Composite ended higher after falling for four consecutive sessions.     

 

Investors switched to financial stocks from beaten-down stocks of software companies, which have seen losses this year, CNBC reported. Shares of Citigroup ended nearly 3% higher and those of JPMorgan Chase & Co. ended 1.5% higher. Shares of software company ServiceNow ended over 1% lower, falling around 31% so far this year. Shares of other software companies AutoDesk and Palo Alto Networks ended nearly 3% and over 2% lower respectively. Shares of SalesForce, down nearly 3%, and shares of Oracle, down nearly 4%, have declined 30% and 21% so far this year. 

 

The tech sector continues to be weighed down by fears that artificial intelligence could replace the services offered by industry-specific software providers, CNBC said. "We just need time to see what earnings are going to look like from some of these companies," Leah Bennett, chief investment strategist at Concurrent Investment Advisors, was reported as saying. "I think those that aren't able to compete and don't really have moats around their business, you're going to see a deterioration," Bennett said, adding that a disruption such as this would allow the market to make out the winners in the space. 

 

The disruption from AI has affected quite a few industries such as software, real estate, financial services, and even trucking. Last week, the weakness in the sectors pushed the S&P 500 to close lower for a second straight week, CNBC reported. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 recorded their fourth losing week in the last five, while the Nasdaq recorded its fifth consecutive weekly fall. "AI innovation and its disruption are calling into question terminal multiples in various corners of the market that is driving investors to focus on specific risks, rather than broader exposure changes," Scott Chronert, Citi US equity strategist, was reported as saying. "For now, the narrative is disconnected from good medium-term fundamental trends. The onus is on companies to convince markets of longer-run business moats, likely a Q1 reporting season theme, absent a renewed focus on a macro soft landing," he added. 

 

Investors await the US personal consumption expenditures price index on Friday. They will also monitor the minutes of the US Federal Reserve's last meeting, due on Wednesday.

 

Following are the closing levels of US indices Tuesday:  

 

Index	Level	Change in %
S&P 500	6843.22	0.1
NASDAQ Composite	22578.38	0.14
Dow Jones Industrial Average	49533.19	0.07

 

(Akshat Saksena)

 

US$1 = INR 90.67

 

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

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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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