Stocks to Watch: ICICI Bank, Cipla, ZEE, Axis Bank, Coforge
Axis Bank: The lender is set to announce its third quarter results for FY24 on January 23. Kotak Institutional Equities estimates the bank to announce Net Interest Income (NII) of ₹124,553 million for Q3FY24, up 8.6% compared to the corresponding period last year. Net profit for Q3FY24 is projected to stand at ₹62,120 crore, up 6% year-on-year.
Increased cost of funds or higher borrowing costs are expected to exert downward pressure on the bank's profit margins for the quarter. Axis Bank's net interest margins (NIMs) are projected to decrease to 3.9% in Q3FY24, compared to 4.1% in Q3FY23. Zee Entertainment Enterprises: Global brokerage firm CLSA has revised its recommendation on Zee Entertainment Enterprises, changing it from a previous 'buy' rating to 'sell.' This update comes in response to the cancellation of the $10-billion mega-merger with Sony Pictures Network.
"With Zee-Sony merger being terminated, we believe Zee’s PE will slump back to 12x levels, seen prior to the Sony merger announcement in August 2021," the brokerage firm stated. The global brokerage firm has further slashed the target price of Zee Entertainment Enterprises stock by 34% to ₹198. Sony has formally asked Zee to halt the merger, while simultaneously seeking a termination fee of $90 million, alleging breaches on the part of the Indian media giant.
ICICI Bank: The private lender released its Q3FY24 results on Saturday and reported a 23.5 jump in its standalone net profit at ₹10,272 crore compared to ₹8,312 in the corresponding quarter last year. The bank reported a healthy jump of 10% in its core operating profit and its asset quality remained stable during the quarter. ICICI Bank's Net Interest Income (NII) grew by 13.4% YoY to ₹18,678 crore
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