Kamal Ghorui
Emkay Global Financial Services has initiated its coverage of Avenue Supermart (D-Mart) with a sell rating and the target price at Rs 3,700. Analysts said the stock, trading at 70x forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio prices in a business D-Mart needs to become, not what it is. Quick commerce players are now only 4-13% pricier than D-Mart on a monthly basket as the gap between the two have vanished after considering bank discounts. The company still covers only 50% of India’s retail total addressable market (TAM). At P/E growth of 4.2x against 2.6x for Trent and Titan, the market is paying for perfection on a business that needs structural reform. Analysts said the bear case target price for D-Mart is at Rs 2,200.Morgan Stanley has resumed its coverage of UPL with an equal weight rating and the target price at Rs 658. Analysts said UPL is a play on revival in global crop chemical volumes, having delivered two years of solid volume growth. While analysts are constructive on agchem cycle improving, near-term uncertainty due to supply dislocations, feedstock sourcing and potential demand risks kept them cautious. UPL has outperformed global listed peers by delivering about 2-2.5x higher volume growth in the last eight quarters. They believe UPL, with its global footprint, is well positioned to leverage the repair cycle, deliver at or above-industry volume growth (3-6%) and market share gains over FY27-28.HSBC has initiated its coverage of Acme Solar with a buy rating with the target price at Rs 350. Analysts said it is one of India’s fastest-growing, vertically-integrated, independent power producers of renewable energy. Contracted capacity of about 6GW gives long-term earnings visibility, while firm & dispatchable renewable energy (FDRE) projects and battery energy storage system (BESS) to improve returns. Analysts forecast earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 72% in FY26-28.ICICI Securities has initiated its coverage of Sumitomo Chemicals with a buy rating and a target price of Rs 515. Analysts said that the company is uniquely positioned with solid credentials, and its reasonable valuation provides material upside. It has a symbiotic dominance: Global innovator parent with the local edge that offers an unparalleled moat. The company’s aggressive capex plans to support growth aspirations while product launches would support momentum. Analysts also feel Indian agriculture demands to remain robust for the next 12–18 months.Goldman Sachs has a buy rating on Eternal with the target price at Rs 350. Analysts believe concerns related to Blinkit’s TAM may be overdone, at least from a value perspective, though industry’s monthly transaction users (MTU) penetration at 50%+ of underlying TAM could approach maturity levels in 1-2 years. They also feel as far as competition is concerned, while expect Blinkit’s share gains against Swiggy to continue, they noted that Blinkit’s growth may have been adversely impacted in recent months due to elevated competition from a few new entrants as well as existing players. Having said that, they also contested the notion that elevated competition would prohibit margin expansion for Blinkit (as evidenced in Dec ’25 quarter), and believed there were enough levers to offset potential headwinds.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)
