BofA IT Stock Calls 2026: Coforge Buy, Others Underperform

BofA starts with a split view on mid-cap IT

BofA Securities issued a mixed set of calls on key Indian mid-cap IT services names, highlighting a clear preference for Coforge while sounding cautious on peers. The brokerage assigned Coforge a Buy rating with a target price of ₹1,725. It flagged revenue growth, steady execution, and a track record in mergers and acquisitions as the main positives.

For Mphasis, BofA maintained a Neutral rating with a target price of ₹2,440. The brokerage said Mphasis is likely to remain in a “show-me” phase over the next six to twelve months as investors look for stronger evidence of sustained growth.

BofA initiated coverage on Persistent Systems with an Underperform rating and a target price of ₹4,875, citing concerns about valuation and future upside. It also assigned an Underperform rating to LTIMindtree with a target price of ₹3,910, and noted the stock needs new growth catalysts to validate its current valuation.

How the ratings and targets line up

The BofA stance places Coforge as the top pick within this set, while positioning Persistent Systems and LTIMindtree as relatively expensive versus expected upside. Mphasis sits in the middle, with BofA effectively asking for clearer growth visibility before turning more constructive.

The data points are notable because they arrive at a time when multiple brokerages are adjusting expectations across IT services. Some are focusing on valuation discipline, while others are looking for signs of demand improvement, execution stability, and confirmation through quarterly results.

Another brokerage reset: downgrades and lower targets

Separately, the mid-cap IT space also saw a downgrade-led reset, with LTIMindtree reportedly cut to ‘Sell’ and a target price reduced to ₹3,185 from ₹4,418. The same note said Persistent Systems and Coforge were downgraded to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’, with revised target prices of ₹5,315 and ₹1,395, respectively.

Mphasis was kept at ‘Hold’ in that set, with a marginally lower target price of ₹2,347. The broad takeaway from these target revisions was “limited upside” and “capped upside potential” against the backdrop of sector-wide challenges.

Trading and price action signals also differ from broker views

Alongside fundamental calls, technical commentary in the provided text pointed to short-term trading setups. It said Mphasis was seeing strong price-volume momentum amid a two-session recovery in the IT sector, with short-term targets of ₹2,450 and ₹2,475 and a suggested stop loss at ₹2,250.

The same technical commentary described LTIMindtree as a preferred pick from the IT pack, trading near ₹4,240, with potential targets of ₹4,450 and ₹4,500 and a stop loss at ₹4,050.

For Persistent Systems, the text noted an intraday rise of about 4%, and highlighted ₹5,600 as a short-term trading resistance. Investors were advised to stay in the stock for a first target of ₹5,600, with the caveat that profit booking could emerge around that level.

Market moves: sharp declines also feature in the data

The dataset also includes a separate session where IT stocks fell sharply. Mphasis declined 6.03% to ₹2,139.65, while HCL Technologies dropped 5.89% to ₹1,202. It added that LTIMindtree, Persistent Systems, KPIT Tech, Cyient, and TCS fell 5-6%.

In another data point, Mphasis shares were described as ending flat at ₹22,263 in the previous session. Elsewhere, Mphasis was also described as trading flat at ₹2,082, and Coforge as trading 1.5% lower at ₹1,064 around 11 AM on Wednesday.

ICICI Securities: upgrades on Coforge and Mphasis

ICICI Securities, in the provided text, upgraded Coforge to ‘BUY’ from ‘Hold’ and Mphasis to ‘Buy’ from ‘Add’. The brokerage cited attractive valuations and healthy revenue growth visibility. It set target prices of ₹1,430 for Coforge and ₹2,500 for Mphasis.

ICICI also upgraded LTIMindtree to ‘HOLD’ from ‘Reduce’ after a sharp correction, with a target price of ₹4,490. It retained ‘Buy’ ratings on Hexaware and LatentView, with targets of ₹580 and ₹440.

The same note linked targets to the then-current prices, stating Coforge at ₹1,064 implied nearly 35% upside to the target, while Mphasis at ₹2,082 implied 20% upside.

JM Financial: cautious stance on LTIMindtree valuation

JM Financial’s view in the dataset focused on relative valuation. It said “LTM is at 7 per cent premium to Mphasis for a similar growth profile in FY27, as per consensus.” It reduced EPS estimates by 3-5% over FY27-28E, incorporating fourth-quarter results.

JM Financial maintained a target multiple of 19x Sep 27 and revised its target price to ₹4,115 from ₹4,285 earlier. The brokerage kept its stance as “REDUCE.”

Nuvama: Buy calls, but targets cut across key names

Nuvama Institutional Equities said it now has ‘Buy’ ratings on all the top 10 IT services companies, and listed its preference for Coforge, LTIMindtree, Tech Mahindra, Mphasis, Persistent Systems, Infosys, and TCS.

In a March 10 report titled “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated”, Nuvama cited targets of ₹2,100 for Coforge, ₹6,100 for LTIMindtree, ₹1,650 for Tech Mahindra, ₹3,100 for Mphasis, ₹6,000 for Persistent Systems, ₹1,650 for Infosys, and ₹3,300 for TCS.

It also said tier-2 companies are expected to continue their outperformance, led by Persistent Systems (up 4% CC QoQ), Mphasis (up 2.3% CC QoQ), Coforge (up 2% CC QoQ), and LTIMindtree (up 1.5% CC QoQ), while Hexaware Technologies may see a marginal QoQ decline (0.6% CC QoQ degrowth).

Targets and ratings snapshot (as reported)

Why these revisions matter for investors

Across the notes in the text, the common thread is a push-and-pull between valuation and near-term growth confidence. BofA’s Buy on Coforge is explicitly tied to execution consistency and M&A history, while its Underperform calls reflect scepticism about how much upside is left at current valuations.

At the same time, the dataset shows broker dispersion. ICICI Securities turned more positive on Coforge and Mphasis, while another note downgraded multiple mid-cap names to Hold or Sell with reduced targets. Nuvama kept broad-based Buy ratings but still cut targets for several IT bellwethers, showing that positive structural views can coexist with more conservative near-term price objectives.

Conclusion

BofA’s latest coverage highlights Coforge as its preferred mid-cap IT name with a ₹1,725 target, while keeping Mphasis at Neutral and rating Persistent Systems and LTIMindtree as Underperform. Other brokerages in the same dataset show upgrades, downgrades, and target cuts across the sector, underlining how quickly positioning can change when valuations, growth proof points, and quarterly execution come under scrutiny.