Brokerage stock picks: targets show up to 52% upside

Market context: a busy week for brokerage calls

A cluster of brokerage notes this week put the spotlight on a set of stocks spanning banking, finance, consumer, energy and technology. The curated list referenced recommendations from Morgan Stanley, Nomura, Nuvama Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal and CLSA, and pointed to potential gains of up to 52% in select ideas. Separately, macro strategy notes from Jefferies and Kotak Securities added to the market narrative with end-2026 targets for the Nifty 50. The combination matters because it mixes short-horizon tactical views with 12-month targets and multi-year sector preferences. It also shows where global and domestic houses are aligning, and where they are not.

Index outlook: Jefferies and Kotak set end-2026 targets

Jefferies said India could perform better in 2026 as corporate earnings recover and macro trends improve. It set a 2026 year-end Nifty 50 target of 28,300, implying roughly 10% upside from current levels cited in the note. Jefferies’ sector stance for 2026, as reported, was to stay overweight lenders, autos, cement, hospitality, telecom and property, and underweight staples, IT, industrials and pharma. The firm also listed stocks such as Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Mahindra and Mahindra, and TVS Motor among its top 10 picks for 2026.

Kotak Securities also published a constructive view, projecting Nifty 29,120 by December 2026, described as about 13.1% upside over the index’s cited Wednesday close. Kotak’s view was linked to expectations of strong earnings growth.

Nomura’s stock views: Dixon Technologies and IDFC First Bank

Nomura reiterated a Buy rating on Dixon Technologies, estimating a 36% upside. The brokerage noted a challenging period for the company’s mobile division but said it sees recovery drivers beyond the current fiscal year.

Nomura also initiated coverage on IDFC First Bank with a Buy and a target price of ₹105, indicating a 23.5% potential upside. The brokerage framed the bank as moving from an investment-heavy phase to a phase of improved earnings and profitability.

Motilal Oswal: Mahanagar Gas and other covered names

Motilal Oswal set a target price of ₹1,700 for Mahanagar Gas, indicating an upside of nearly 49%. It expects 11% annual volume growth through 2028, linking the thesis to the rising number of CNG vehicles.

Motilal Oswal also retained a Buy on JSW Steel with a target price of ₹1,350, implying an 18% upside. The brokerage linked the view to the restructuring of Bhushan Power and Steel through a joint venture with Japan’s JFE Steel Corporation, which it expects to help JSW Steel monetise value, reduce debt, and focus on capacity expansion.

In another coverage initiation cited, Motilal Oswal initiated on Groww (Billionbrains Garage Ventures) with a Buy and a target price of ₹185, indicating a 19% upside.

Morgan Stanley: tactical idea on Aditya Birla Capital

Morgan Stanley flagged Aditya Birla Capital as a high-conviction “Research Tactical Idea,” with an expectation of a meaningful share price increase relative to the country index within 60 days. It maintained an Overweight rating with a ₹427 price target and assigned an 80%+ probability to this scenario. The note also pointed to acceleration in the core lending arm, with NBFC loan growth expected at 23% year-on-year.

Morgan Stanley: Varun Beverages initiation and near-term catalysts

Morgan Stanley initiated an Overweight on Varun Beverages with a ₹600 target price, implying a 21.5% upside over 12 months. The firm also said it expects an absolute share price rise within 45 days. It expects management commentary on an optimistic 2026 outlook for the India business during upcoming Q4 CY25 earnings.

Jefferies’ single-stock targets: IndiGo, Adani Enterprises, Kfin Tech

Jefferies rated InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) a Buy with a target price of ₹7,025, indicating a 25% upside. The brokerage highlighted IndiGo’s scale, domestic leadership, and cost competitiveness as key factors.

Jefferies maintained a Buy on Adani Enterprises with a target price of ₹3,200, suggesting a 46% upside. The brokerage cited growth drivers including new energy, airports, data centres and infrastructure.

Jefferies also maintained a Buy on Kfin Technologies with a base-case target price of ₹1,440, indicating a 32% upside, citing traction in mutual funds, investor solutions, and newer verticals such as insurance.

Nuvama and Anand Rathi: Coromandel and Premier Energies

Nuvama Institutional Equities maintained a Buy on Coromandel International, seeing up to 35.2% upside. The view was tied to expansion plans targeting 10 million tonnes of fertiliser sales and doubling its crop protection franchise.

Anand Rathi Research upgraded Premier Energies to Buy with a target price of ₹1,321, implying a 36% upside, citing capacity expansion, technology upgrades and an integrated solar manufacturing approach.

Quick snapshot table: key calls and stated upside

Market impact and what investors typically track next

These notes do not change fundamentals by themselves, but they can move attention and near-term positioning, especially when multiple houses converge on a similar theme. In this set of calls, lenders and lending-linked businesses show up in both bottom-up picks (IDFC First Bank, ICICI Bank mentioned with profit growth estimates) and top-down sector preferences (Jefferies overweight lenders). Autos and telecom also appear in Jefferies’ sector stance and named picks such as Mahindra and Mahindra and Bharti Airtel.

For company-specific stories, investors usually watch whether upcoming results or management commentary align with the brokerages’ stated triggers. In Varun Beverages, for example, Morgan Stanley explicitly linked its expectations to commentary around the 2026 India outlook at Q4 CY25 earnings. In Aditya Birla Capital, the timeline was even tighter, with a 60-day tactical framing.

Conclusion

A broad set of brokerage updates this week highlighted targeted upside scenarios across banks, industrials, consumer-facing names and market infrastructure plays, alongside upbeat end-2026 Nifty projections from Jefferies and Kotak. The next clear checkpoints in this flow of calls are scheduled earnings, management commentary, and whether the stated operating metrics and timelines referenced by brokerages start showing up in reported numbers.