Tale of the Tape 

Hola Amigos. Happy Friday!

Markets rebounded after yesterday’s fall, with the Nifty and Sensex up +1% each.  Midcaps (+0.6%) and Smallcaps (+0.8%) posted solid gains too. The advance-decline ratio was in favour of the bulls (3:2). Here’s the Nifty500 heatmap:

Except Pharma (-0.4%), all other sectors ended in the green. FMCG (+1.6%) led the rally, followed by IT (+1%) and Banks (+0.8%). 

Mamaearth was the top NSE 500 gainer after signalling a turnaround in Q4. Meanwhile, ITC was up +2% after an okay-ish Q4 show. More details below.

Leela Hotels IPO kicks off on Monday. Check out our analysis below to help you decide whether to subscribe.

Sensex rejig. Trent and BEL will replace Nestle India and IndusInd Bank.

Waaree Energies tanked -8% after Trump proposed a new tax bill that removed clean energy subsidies. 

Sun Pharma (-2%) was the top Nifty loser after its Q4 PAT fell -19% YoY and it guided for a modest FY26 outlook.

Emcure Pharma was locked in a +10% upper circuit for a second day. PS - Kotak upped its target price to Rs 1,625 p/sh (vs Rs 1,515 p/sh earlier).

BSE was +5% after the stock traded ex-bonus (2:1). Ashok Leyland approved a 1:1 bonus share.

Anil Ambani stocks were on fire after recent positive triggers. Reliance Power (+16%) zoomed, while Reliance Infra (+9%) saw solid buying.

Bondada Engineering was locked in a +10% upper circuit after winning a massive Rs 9,000-cr solar project in Andhra Pradesh

Earnings
Earnings Roundup

Honasa Consumer (+15%) was the top NSE 500 gainer after investors cheered a possible turnaround! ICYMI - its Q2 was horrible after a bad distribution strategy led to a big inventory write-off. 

But the firm’s Q4 numbers hint at a recovery. Domestic volumes grew +21% YoY, helped primarily by its new skincare businesses. This led to double-digit topline growth. PS - the company’s shift to direct distribution outlets is also underway; direct contribution jumped to 71% in Q4FY25 vs 38% in FY24. That said, higher ad expenses & its distribution restructuring strategy weighed on margins, which brought down the bottomline.

Here are its key stats:

• Revenue: Rs 534 cr; +13% YoY

• EBITDA: Rs 27 cr; -19% YoY

• EBITDA Margin: 5% vs 7% YoY

• PAT: Rs 25 cr; -18% YoY

Big Picture: The bottomline doesn't look great. But analysts are hoping that strong sales is the first step to turning the ship around. Honasa is also targeting double-digit revenue growth in FY26, based on its retail push + revival in core Mamaearth brand. 

Honasa Consumer is +27% YTD.

ITC (+3%) posted an okay-ish set of Q4 numbers. Volumes for its core cigarette biz were up around +5% YoY, slightly above Street estimates. But FMCG vertical growth came in at just +4% YoY, slowest in 12 quarters. FMCG margins also dropped -270 bps YoY, mainly hurt by higher palm oil prices. While rural growth was a key positive, it failed to make up for soft urban demand. 

FYI - don’t be fooled by the profit numbers. The big jump is mostly due to ITC’s gains from spinning off the hotels business. If you exclude that, the bottomline was up just +1% YoY. FWIW - analysts are divided. Jefferies maintained its buy call, but reduced its target price to Rs 535 p/sh. Meanwhile, Nomura downgraded the stock.

Here are its key stats:

• Revenue: Rs 17,248 cr; +9% YoY (vs est: Rs 16,820 cr)

• EBITDA: Rs 5,986 cr; +3% YoY (vs Est: Rs 6,100 cr)

• EBITDA Margin: 34.7% vs 37.1% YoY

• PAT: Rs 19,562 cr

ITC is -10% YTD.

Specials
5 Stocks Under Rs 500 - By SEBI RAs

As markets recover, which stocks should be on your radar? Check out the top Mid and Small Cap stocks under ₹500 with massive upside potential, as shared by SEBI RAs on Stocktwits.