Stocks Radar: HUL, Avenue Supermarts, Fortis
Here are the stocks moving the markets this morning.
Indian equity benchmarks clocked their best gains in a month as vote-counting from elections in Karnataka showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP leading over the main opposition.(For live updates on Karnataka’s election results, click here)
The S&P BSE Sensex rose as much as 1 percent to 35,922 while the NSE Nifty 50 Index rose as much as 0.9 percent to 10,904.
The market breadth was firmly tilted towards to the buyers by at least 2:1. All the 11 sectoral gauges compiled by the NSE rose, led by the Nifty Private Bank’s 1.64 percent jump.
Here Are The Stocks Moving The Markets This Morning:
HUL: Lifetime High After Q4 Results
Shares of Hindustan Unilever Ltd. touched a lifetime high at Rs 1,543.2 after rising as much as 2.6 percent.
Most brokerages raised their target price on the stock, citing the “worst is over” for India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods company. The soap to soup maker clocked a 11 percent sales volume growth, it said in an exchange notification. This was considerably more than the Bloomberg consensus estimate of 5-6 percent.
Earnings Highlight:
- Revenue up 11 percent at Rs 9,097 crore.
- Net profit up 14 percent at Rs 1,351 crore.
- Ebitda up 24 percent at Rs 2,048 crore.
- Margin at 22.5 percent versus 20.1 percent.
Trading volume of the stock was 7.3 times the 20-day average.
Fortis Healthcare: Bidding War Continues
Shares of the hospital chain operator rose as much as 4.2 percent, the most in two weeks, to Rs 155.
TPG Capital-backed Manipal Healthcare Enterprises Pvt Ltd. revised its bid for Fortis Healthcare Ltd. for the third time even as the board of India’s second-largest hospital chain has backed a joint bid from the Munjal and Burman families. (Get the details of the new bid here)
The stock gained for a second straight session with trading volumes almost same as the 20-day average.
Avenue Supermarts: Rises On MSCI Inclusion
Shares of the parent of D-Mart stores operator rose as much as 6.6 percent, the most in 15 weeks, to Rs 1,518.8 after index compiler MSCI added the stock to its Global Index.
Trading volume was 11.2 times the 20-day average. The stock has rise 26.6 percent so far this year compared with the 5.1 percent rise in the Sensex.
Monnet Ispat: CCI Approves Stake Purchase
Shares of the New Delhi-based steel products maker swung between gains and losses. The stock fell as much as 4 percent to Rs 13.20 before staging a recovery to rise 1 percent.
The Competition Commission of India has approved Monnet Ispat and Energy Ltd.’s stake purchase by Aion Investment-JSW group. Aion Investment will be the lead partner in the group. Their plan proposes to pay Rs 2,677 crore cash to the lenders up-front.
The stock has lost around 14.4 percent in the past one week. Trading volume was 50 percent of the 20-day average. Currently, none of the analysts have this stock in their portfolio.
HDFC Life: Possible Profit Booking?
Shares of insurance services provider fell as much as 8.3 percent, the most since its listing in November last year, to Rs 495. This after the stock rose 4.7 percent in the previous session.
Trading volume was 8.2 times the 20-day average. The stock has given positive returns of 34.3 percent so far this year. Brokerages Nomura and Motilal Oswal have a ‘Buy’ rating on the stock while Kotak Securities recommends a ‘Sell’.
Stocks Reacting To Earnings:
Dr. Lal Pathlabs:
- Shares of Dr. Lal Pathlabs Ltd. rose as much as 8.5 percent, the most in a little over eight months, to Rs 876.
- Revenue up 21 percent at Rs 267 crore.
- Net profit up 25 percent at Rs 40 crore.
- Ebitda up 28 percent at Rs 64 crore.
- Margin at 24 percent versus 22.7 percent.
Bombay Dyeing:
- Shares of Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Company Ltd. rose as much as 4.3 percent to Rs 301.5.
- Revenue up 44 percent at Rs 758 crore.
- Net profit at Rs 11 crore versus a net loss of Rs 62.5 crore.
- Ebitda at Rs 229.5 crore versus Rs 109.5 crore.
- Margin at 30.3 percent versus 20.8 percent.