HDFC Bank share price rises: Targets by UBS, Bernstein, Jefferies, Morgan Stanley

HDFC Bank Ltd shares held ground in Monday’s trade after foreign brokerages including UBS, Bernstein, Macquarie, Morgan Stanley, Nomura and Jefferies largely retained their 'Buy' or 'Outperform' ratings on the stock, even as MD and CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan decided not to seek reappointment. Domestic brokerages, including ICICI Securities, Antique Stock Broking, Axis Capital, Nuvama and MOFSL, also retained their ratings.
HDFC Bank shares were trading 2.02 per cent higher at Rs 734.55 apiece.  A few analysts said they saw the development coming, especially as a term extension for Jagdishan from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would have been difficult amid the recent operational and governance lapses.

UBS’ Alok Srivastava retained a 'Buy' rating with a target price of Rs 1,130. Bernstein’s Pranav Gundlapalle and Macquarie’s Suresh Ganapathy retained 'Outperform' ratings with target prices of Rs 1,150, the highest among brokerages following the CEO’s decision so far. Domestic brokerage Nuvama retained a target price of Rs 875, the lowest so far.

Morgan Stanley’s Subramanian Iyer retained an 'Overweight' rating with a target price of Rs 1,025, as the board decision to fast-track process of selection is seen as well within time. A timely conclusion to the selection process is seen as key for a return of investor focus on fundamentals.

Axis Capital retained a target of Rs 1,020, while Antique Stock Broking, Nomura, ICICI Securities and Jefferies had targets of Rs 1,025, Rs 950, Rs 920 and Rs 880, respectively.

Jagdishan has been with HDFC Bank since 1996 and previously served as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He took over the reins of HDFC Bank as MD & CEO with effect from October 27, 2020 from his predecessor Aditya Puri, who is regarded as one of the most iconic bankers ever seen in India.

During his first tenure as MD & CEO, Jagdishan was instrumental in overseeing the reverse merger of HDFC. with HDFC Bank Ltd. w.e.f July 1, 2023, which could be termed as one of the toughest assignments ever in corporate India’s history. His second three-year term started w.e.f October 27, 2023.