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Shares of IDFC First Bank dipped 5.6% to the day’s low of Rs 80 after the company reported a net profit of Rs 724.35 crore for the quarter ended March 31, which was down from Rs 802.62 crore reported by the lender in the year-ago period.IDFC First Bank reported an interest income of Rs 8,219.21 crore in the January-March quarter as against Rs 6,424.35 crore reported in the year-ago period. It was up by 28% on a year-on-year basis.The board has also approved the borrowing of funds by the issuance of debt Instruments up to Rs 5,000 crore.ALSO READ | HCL Tech shares fall 6% after Q4 results. Should you buy, sell or hold?Here’s what brokerage firms say about the stock:Motilal OswalIDFCFB delivered a mixed quarter, with earnings largely in line, but provisioning and opex were elevated. NIM contracted 7bp QoQ; however, the outlook remains broadly stable. On the business front, deposit traction continues to remain robust, while CASA mix improved sequentially and advances’ growth too remained healthy. However, improvement in operating leverage mainly from 2HFY25 onwards coupled with steady loan growth, limited deposit repricing, and further replacement of high-cost borrowings in FY25 will support IDFCFB’s underlying profitability.The brokerage firm has reiterated a ‘buy’ opinion on the stock with a revised target price of Rs 88.JP MorganAfter the Q4 results, JP Morgan has given a ‘neutral’ view on the stock and has stated a target price of Rs 75, which implies a potential downside of 7%.Morgan StanleyMorgan Stanley has given an ‘equalweight’ rating for IDFCFB while stating a target of Rs 78, which is 3.6% on the downside.Emkay GlobalIDFCB continues to report strong growth (28% YoY) with healthy & stable margins at 6.4%, but opex remains rigidly high with C/I ratio at 73%. Bank guides for some growth moderation but margins to remain largely stable aided by improving portfolio mix. Bank would maintain focus on building a strong retail deposit book and healthy CASA. It expects cost-income ratio, which has been relatively sticky, to moderate as the burn-rate in the new business recedes (e.g. Credit Cards). Bank expects credit cost to stay high, as it shores up provisions further. We cut FY25/26 earnings to 13%/6% and expect the bank to deliver RoA/RoE at 1.2-1.3%/11-13% in FY25-26.On this backing, the brokerage rates IDFC as a ‘buy’ with a target price of Rs 98.NuvamaIDFC First Bank delivered in-line Q4FY24 PAT, beating expectations on fees, but a miss on provisions. Loans grew 6% QoQ with a slowdown in consumer and rural while deposit growth held strong (CASA up 60bp YoY). CI stood elevated at 72.9%. LCR fell from 120% to 114% as IDFCFB went slow on IBPC borrowings due to pricing. The CEO remains upbeat on growth, fees and improving branch productivity. CI shall improve in H2FY25 as the credit card business is likely to break even in H2 and become profitable in FY26E. NIM could also inch up with full repricing of legacy bonds. Credit cost guidance of 1.65% in FY25 is higher than 1.2% in FY24 (1.5% in Q4FY24) due to seasoning.Nuvama has rated IDFC with a ‘hold’ with a target price of Rs 85.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

Global brokerage firm Jefferies downgraded BSE, Morgan Stanley maintained an overweight rating on InterGlobe Aviation and Tech Mahindra, and Kotak Securities recommended a sell on Yes Bank.We have collated a list of recommendations from top brokerage firms from ETNow and other sources:Jefferies on BSE: Hold| Target Rs 2900Jefferies downgraded BSE to Hold from a buy earlier and also slashed its target price to Rs 2900 from Rs 3000.Higher regulatory fee limit near-term upside for the stock. SEBI order can impact EPS by 15-18%.Price hikes could offset ~2/3 of the impact immediately. Improving business quality can fully offset the residual impact over FY25-26.Morgan Stanley on InterGlobe Aviation: Overweight| Target Rs 4615Morgan Stanley maintained an overweight rating on InterGlobe Aviation but raised the target price to Rs 4615 from Rs 4145 earlier.The global investment bank believes that Indigo has both a large and sustainable moat. It expects India outbound travel to be the next big theme.The global investment bank sees the domestic plus international market expanding from 221mn airline passengers in FY24 to 370mn in FY30.Morgan Stanley on Tech Mahindra: Overweight| Target Rs 1490Morgan Stanley upgraded Tech Mahindra to overweight from underweight earlier and also raised the target price to Rs 1490 from Rs 1190 earlier.The Q4 results mark the bottom for financials. The management is tangible and quantifiable outlook for FY27 makes it a self-help story.Even after the April 26 move of 8%, the global investment bank is of the view that the risk-to-reward ratio is favorable for the stock.Tech M's cost structure has material room to improve. Revenue growth will take time but key to monitor would be the lag vs. peers.Kotak Securities on Yes Bank: Sell| Target Rs 19Kotak Securities maintained a sell rating on YES Bank with a target price of Rs 19. One-offs dominate earnings, but it will be a slow recovery, nevertheless. Most one-offs were used to strengthen the balance sheet metrics.Business is steadily recovering, and one-offs are likely to continue given the incident. The current price factors most of the positive outcomes.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)

A recovery is in the offing in India’s telecommunications sector, with potential tariffs hikes and a shift to high-speed networks set to bolster revenue, according to a top-performing fund manager.“We are likely headed for a large hike in tariffs,” said Niket Shah, chief investment officer at Motilal Oswal Asset Management Co. He estimates that one such increase can boost the industry’s Ebitda by more than 500 billion rupees, and add up to 7 trillion rupees ($84 billion) in combined market value.The likely tariff increase will help inject new life into a sector that has grappled with cut-throat competition and aggressive policy actions in recent years, said Shah. America’s top wireless carrier AT&T Inc.’s average revenue per user is $55, while the measure is as low as $2 in India, he said.The optimism was palpable last week as Vodafone Idea Ltd., the smallest of the three players in India, raised $2.2 billion in a share sale that was oversubscribed more than six times. Nuvama Institutional Equities said this fundraise may mark a turning point for the sector, providing the company the much-needed capital to compete with larger rivals Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. and Bharti Airtel Ltd.109677779“It’s clear that the government doesn’t want to see telecom become a duopoly, so we can expect policy support,” said Shah, who oversees $3.2 billion across five equity funds. Motilal Oswal’s flagship fund has returned about 58% in the past year, beating over 90% of peers.Shah held Bharti Airtel and tower operator Indus Towers Ltd. in his portfolios at the end of March, data compiled by Bloomberg show.Mukesh Ambani’s Jio disrupted the market in 2016 with cheap 4G data services, sparking a price war that reshaped the sector into a near-duopoly dominated by Jio and Bharti. Average revenue per user plunged, burdening telecom operators with massive debts.In 2022, Vodafone Idea converted the dues it couldn’t pay to the government into a 32% equity stake.The industry is now showing signs of stabilizing, driven with investments into newer technology and efforts by companies to clean up balance sheets. Antique Stock Broking Ltd. estimates a 15% to 17% tariff increase for the sector — the first hike since 2021 — after India’s on-going elections conclude.109677801The shift in sentiment means that some shares are expensive relative to history. Bharti Airtel trades at nearly 37 times its forward earnings, versus the two-year average of 31. Also, Vodafone Idea continues to lose subscribers to competitors. Analysts caution that the fundraise may not be sufficient to stem this decline. Mobile operators are urging the government to discontinue 2G services, aiming to cut network-related expenses and transition over 200 million users to higher data plans. Motilal Oswal’s Shah expects a full migration of all customers to 4G or 5G within the next two to three years.These price hikes, alongside the migration and lower interest burden, will drive profits in the coming years, he said.

Indian market is likely to consolidate on Monday tracking mixed global cues.The Nifty future closed negative with losses of 0.35% at 22575 levels on Friday. India VIX was up by 1.82% from 10.73 to 10.92 levels.Since it is the beginning of the new series, options data is scattered at various far strikes. On the weekly options front, the maximum Call OI is placed at 22500 and then towards 23000 strikes.The maximum Put OI is placed at 22400 and then towards 22000 strikes. Minor Call writing is seen at 22500 and then towards 22600 strikes while Put writing is seen at 22200 and then towards 22000 strikes.“Options data suggests a broader trading range in between 22100 to 23000 zones while an immediate range between 22300 to 22700 levels,” Chandan Taparia, Analyst-Derivatives at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited, said.In the cash market on Friday, FIIs sold to the tune of 3408.88 cr while DIIs bought to the tune of 4356.83 cr.FIIs' Long short ratio for index futures is at 35.07 as on a net basis, they sold 45555 index futures.“Strong support for the Nifty lies around 22350-22320, while resistance is seen at 22550-22580 levels on the upside. Any sustainable move above the level of 22580 will lead to an extension of the rally towards 22700-22750 in the short term,” Sudeep Shah, Deputy Vice President, Head of Technical and Derivative Research, SBI Securities, said.In case the index slips below 22300, it will lead to further selling pressure in the index upto the 22220-22150 level, he said.We have collated a list of stocks from the F&O basket along with cash market from various experts for traders who have a short-term trading horizon:Expert: Chandan Taparia, Analyst-Derivatives at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited told ETBureauIDFC First Bank: Buy| Target Rs 91| Stop Loss Rs 82Tata Power: Buy| Target Rs 460| Stop Loss Rs 425BSE: Buy| Target Rs 3360| Stop Loss Rs 3130Expert: Kunal Bothra, Market Expert told ETNowSun Tv: Buy| Target Rs 710| Stop Loss Rs 640Axis Bank: Buy| Target Rs 1165| Stop Loss Rs 1115City Union Bank: Buy| Target Rs 172| Stop Loss Rs 156Expert: Nooresh Merani, an independent technical analyst told ETNowRIL: Buy| Target Rs 3200| Stop Loss Rs 2850Ashok Leyland: Buy| Target Rs 200| Stop Loss Rs 177Godrej Properties: Buy| Target Rs 2850| Stop Loss Rs 2580PNB: Buy| Target Rs 150| Stop Loss Rs 132(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)