JPMorgan downgrades HCL Tech, slashes target prices across Indian IT on muted FY26 growth outlook
JPMorgan has downgraded HCL Technologies to «neutral» from «overweight», citing weak fourth-quarter performance, sluggish deal wins, and macroeconomic uncertainties. The brokerage has also slashed target prices for four major Indian IT stocks, reflecting a cautious stance on the sector’s near-term growth prospects.
Meanwhile, the brokerage upgraded Tech Mahindra to «neutral» from «underweight», viewing it as a «self-help margin story,” though it left the company’s target price unchanged at Rs 1,500.
JPMorgan lowered its target price on Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to Rs 3,900 from Rs 4,500, Infosys to Rs 1,900 from Rs 2,350, HCL Tech to Rs 1,700 from Rs 2,200, and Tata Elxsi to Rs 4,500 from Rs 5,400.
The brokerage sees Q4 results reflecting a softer seasonality due to weaker macro conditions and some early signs of AI-driven deflation. JPMorgan said it also expects FY26 to show no growth acceleration and has trimmed revenue estimates for Tier I IT firms by 3-5% and for Tier II firms by 2-10%.
Despite JPMorgan’s cautious outlook, Indian IT stocks climbed on Wednesday, with the Nifty IT index rising 0.8%. Shares of Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Oracle Financial Services, and Persistent Systems advanced between 1% and 1.4%. However, HCL Tech, LTIMindtree, Wipro, and TCS saw declines of 0.1% to 0.7%.
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JPMorgan said it continues to favour stocks like Coforge, Persistent Systems, Infosys, KPIT Technologies, LTI Mindtree, and Sagality in the sector.
The broader markets also opened higher on Wednesday, with