After having a volatile year in 2022 which was led by geopolitical tension, rising inflation, and a surge in covid, the Indian market is still holding its ground. The benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex began the year in the green, indicating investor optimism.
Here are two stocks recommended by analysts in 2023 for an upside of up to 39% :
Piramal Pharma Limited
The shares of Piramal Pharma were trading 2 percent higher till the afternoon on Tuesday at Rs 125 levels. In the last five trading sessions, the stock has gained approximately 9 percent.
The company was recently listed on the Indian stock exchanges after being demerged from its parent company Piramal enterprises. The stock started trading on NSE at Rs 171.50 levels. Currently, it is trading at a discount of 27 percent from those levels.
Piramal Pharma Limited (PPL) offers a portfolio of differentiated products and services through end-to-end manufacturing capabilities across 15 global facilities and a global distribution network in over 100 countries.
Global brokerage Jefferies is bullish on the pharma stock and has assigned a ‘Buy rating with a target price of Rs 150 apiece which represents an upside of 21% from the current levels.
“Piramal Pharma’s (PPL) CDMO business is on the cusp of a turnaround as headwinds faced over the last 12-18 months are getting resolved. Steady growth for complex hospital generics and scaleup of consumer health should drive 12%/21% revenue/Ebitda Cagr over FY22-25E and allay leverage concerns,” the report from the brokerage highlighted.
Life Insurance Corporation of India
The shares of the largest insurance company in India were trading approximately 2 percent higher till the afternoon on Tuesday at Rs 718 levels. In the last month, the stock has gained approximately 10 percent.
The scrip got listed on the Indian stock exchanges in May last year and started trading at Rs 826 a piece. Since then it has been on a downward trend and is currently trading at a discount of 14 percent from those levels.
Domestic brokerage firm Kotak Institutional Equities has initiated a ‘Buy’ tag on the stock and assigned a target price of Rs 1,000 per share representing an upside of 39% from the current levels.
“We initiate coverage on LIC with a BUY rating and an FV of Rs1,000, reflecting 1.3X core EV December 2024E (2.1-3.2X for private peers) and a 50% haircut on
equity unrealized gains. The margin expansion, driven by the shifting of product mix by its unparalleled agency force, should boost VNB growth, even as overall medium-term APE growth will likely be lower than private peers,” Kotak said.
Written by Anoushka Roy
