Bajaj Auto, M&M, Maruti Suzuki top picks: PINC Research

PINC Research has come out with its report on auto sector. The research firm has maintained neutral rating on the sector.

Finance, Fuel cost, Strike.... Indian automotive industry continues to witness soft demand emanating from high fuel cost and increase in interest rates. The passenger car industry has been the worst impacted by this and reported their worst performance over the last 30 months. Beside the slow demand, the industry was also besieged by employee strike at Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant. In this gloom, 2-wheeler segment maintained their outperformance with strong double digit growth. The prime factors behind strong performance of 2-wheeler segment is their low dependence on financing and lower operational cost. The surprise during the month was growth in medium and heavy commercial vehicle (MHCV) segment despite their high dependence on financing and weak freight market owing to monsoon.”

“We expect MHCV segment sales to see a decline over next 3 months due to increase in diesel price announced in June 2011. Moreover, last year the segment was doing very well due to recovery in the economy and impending emission norm changes.”

Brokerages bullish on Reliance Infra and Lupin

Merrill Lynch recommends buying Reliance Infra with a target of Rs 1,081, the stock is currently trading at Rs 540. They see positives from the bottoming of Mumbai license area profits, a pick-up in execution and growth across the power, roads and metro rail domains.

Credit Suisse has an outperform stance with a target of Rs 480 onLupin . The company is working on eight products and is planning to launch its first biosimilar in India in FY12. The two most advanced products are about to commence clinical trials.

Tulsian's top picks: Polyplex, Sterlite Technologies

SP Tulsian of sptulsian.com in an interview with CNBC-TV18 said that he sees Polyplex and Sterlite Technologies fetching good returns ahead.

He said, "Polypex is the fourth largest thin polyester filmmaker in the world and they have their manufacturing presence in India, Thailand and Turkey. The company posted robust financial performance in FY11 on the back of which they issued 1:1 bonus. This company is sitting on huge cash and looks good when considered from the current levels. The company is expected to post a topline of about Rs 2,500 crore plus in FY12."

Buy Maruti Suzuki; target of Rs 1594: PINC Research

PINC Research is bullish on Maruti Suzuki India and has recommended buy rating on the stock with a target of Rs 1594 in its June 29, 2011 research report.

“Maruti Suzuki India, during FY09- 11, MSIL compact segment volumes grew at 25.7% CAGR against the segment CAGR of 27.9% i.e. a marketshare loss of 200bps. In the same period Hyundai lost 160bps while Tata Motor’s lost is at a whopping 580bps. Of the recent launches, the Figo has been largely successful, helping Ford garner a marketshare of 5% in the segment. The Beat, after tasting initial success fizzled out. Polo ramp up has been slow due to capacity constraints and monthly runrate has stabilized near the 3k mark, exceeding 200bps marketshare.”

Five stocks that brokerages recommend to buy

Goldman Sachs reiterates buy on Bharti Airtel with a target of Rs 435. Both Bharti and MTN are well positioned to show double digit revenue.

UBS retains its buy rating on L&T with a target of Rs 2,100. L&T may launch the L&T Finance holdings IPO within the next six weeks, the capital raising would enable the to fund its growth.

Buy Bharat Heavy Electricals; target of Rs 2600: KRChoksey

KRChoksey is bullish on Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) and has recommended buy rating on the stock with a target of Rs 2600 in its June 26, 2011 research report.

Buy GMR Infra; target of Rs 40: Aditya Birla Money

Aditya Birla Money is bullish on GMR Infra and has recommended buy rating on the stock with a target of Rs 40 in its June 28, 2011 research report.