IDFC First Bank shares: Three 52-week highs in three sessions; can they hit Rs 100 mark?

Shares of IDFC First Bank Ltd hit a fresh 52-week high for the third consecutive session amid a rally in the broader market today. IDFC First Bank stock rose 2.39 per cent intraday to a new high of Rs 71.85 against the previous close of Rs 70.17 on BSE. IDFC First Bank stock rose 98 per cent in a year and has gained 21.48 per cent in 2022. In a month, the share has gained 16 per cent.

Total 38.75 lakh shares of the firm changed hands amounting to a turnover of Rs 27.61 crore. Market cap of the firm rose to Rs 47,326 crore on BSE.

In terms of technicals, the relative strength index (RSI) of IDFC First Bank stock stands at 80.8, signaling it's strongly overbought. IDFC First Bank stock has a one-year beta of 1.4, indicating very high volatility during the period. IDFC First Bank shares are trading higher than the 5 day, 20 day, 50 day, 100 day and 200 day moving averages. 

The banking stock has gained 16.69% since April 28 this year. The earnings were announced after market hours on April 29, 2023. 

The lender reported a 41.08% rise in interest earned to Rs 6424 crore in the March 2023 quarter against Rs 4553.64 crore  in the March 2022 quarter. Operating profit climbed 88.58% to Rs 1558.66 crore in Q4 against Rs 826.52 crore in the March 2022 quarter.  Net profit zoomed 134% to Rs 802.62 crore in Q4 against Rs 342.73 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. 

On an annual basis, net profit zoomed 1575% to Rs 2437.13 crore for the fiscal ended March 2023 against Rs 145.49 crore for the fiscal ended March 2022. Interest earned climbed 32.35% to Rs 22727.54 crore in the March 2023 fiscal against Rs 17172 crore for the fiscal ended March 2022.

Abhijeet from Tips2trades said, "IDFC First Bank is very overbought on the daily charts with strong resistance at Rs 73.2. Investors should be booking profits at current levels and wait for a dip near daily support of Rs 58 to initiate fresh buy positions for better returns."

Dr. Ravi Singh, Vice President and Head of Research, Share India said, "After presenting strong set of numbers in Q4FY23, IDFC First Bank shares surged 16% from Rs 61.50 to 70.80 and are now trading at their 52-week high level. Entire banking segment is in a uptrend after good quarterly results.  This rally in IDFC Frist Bank share price will continue in the near term and could hit the target of Rs 85."

HDFC Securities assigned a target of Rs 79.5 on May 16 this year. 

"We expect advances of the bank to increase at 22% CAGR over FY23-FY25E. Improvement in profitability would drive RoA to 1.3% by FY25E. We have valued the bank at 1.6x FY25E ABV for a base case target of Rs 73 and 1.75x FY25E ABV for a bull case target of Rs 79.5 over 2-3 quarters. Investors can buy the stock in Rs 66-68 band and add on dips in Rs 59-60 band (1.3x FY25E ABV)," said the brokerage. 

ALSO READ: IDFC FIRST Bank reports highest-ever profit at Rs 2,437 crore in FY23

After the earnings, Motilal Oswal Secuities said IDFC First Bank was entering a phase of strong loan growth as the drag from the wholesale book continues to moderate. This, it said, will be aided by a strong pickup in profitability due to the replacement of high-cost borrowings, better cost trends and controlled credit costs. The brokerage assigned a target of Rs 75 on the stock.

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