This brokerage sees 20% upside in Vedanta, stock hits 52-week high

Shares of Vedanta hit a fresh 52-week high today after Bank of America Securities upgraded the large cap stock to a 'buy' from 'neutral'. The brokerage also raised the target price to Rs 485 against its earlier target of Rs 365. The new target price translates into an upside of over 20 percent compared to the close of Rs 400 on March 21.

Vedanta stock zoomed 3.97 per cent to Rs 415.95 against the previous close of Rs 400.05 on BSE today. The shares have gained 13.63 per cent in the last four days. Vedanta shares zoomed 81.23 per cent in one year and risen 18.78 per cent since the beginning of this year.

A total of 9.90 lakh shares of the firm changed hands, amounting to a turnover of Rs 40.61 crore.

Market cap of the firm rose to Rs 1.50 lakh crore on the BSE. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 209.80 on March April 12, 2021.

Share Market LIVE: Sensex rises 100 pts, Nifty above 17,100; TechM, RIL top gainers

The outlook for the metals major turned positive on a strong rebound in operating cash flows. Bank of America Securities also raised FY23-24 earnings estimates by 28-32 per cent which is a positive sign.

EBITDA will be contributed from aluminum plus zinc plus oil segments. The dividend yield is healthy at 9 per cent and key near-term trigger, added the note by Bank of America Securities.

Meanwhile, Credit Suisse has assigned a target price of Rs 420, terming the stock as overpriced. One of the key takeaways from the investor meet is deleveraging along with focus on growth. Capex of the firm will remain below $1.5 billion (including semis and growth capex)/year, the brokerage said.

The oil and gas major reported a 26.2 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 4,164 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 against Rs 3,299 crore in the year-ago period.

Consolidated income during the October-December period increased to Rs 34,674 crore from Rs 23,621 crore in the year-ago period.

Operating profit excluding other income climbed 38.48 per cent to Rs 10,742 crore in Q3 against Rs 7,757 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.