Tale of the Tape 

Howdy folks. Happy Friday!

Markets continue to scale new highs. Nifty closed in the green for an INSANE 12th consecutive trading session (gotta be a record of some sorts) to end August in the green. Fun Fact: this is the 3rd straight month of gains for the benchmark indices. Midcaps (+0.6%) and Smallcaps (+0.5%) also moved in sync. The advance-decline ratio was in favor of the bulls (3:2). 

Except for FMCG (-0.2%), all the other sectors ended in the green. Real Estate (+1.8%) and Pharma (+1.5%) saw massive gains. 

India’s port & shipping sector is growing rapidly. Read our top story below to find out how to play this theme along with top picks from Jefferies.

Bazaar Style Retail IPO kicked off today. Look at our analysis below to help you decide whether to subscribe.

Sugar stocks zoomed after the GOI bonanza. Check out their charts below.

Bharti Hexacom (+6%) gained after Citi initiated coverage on the stock; the brokerage sees a +14% upside from current levels.

VI cracked -5% ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on AGR dues case. 

Paytm was the top gainer on Nifty500 rallying +12% 

Natco Pharma was up +3% after filing an application for a generic lung cancer drug. On the other hand, Zydus Life received a warning letter for its Vadodara unit. 

Prestige Estates (+4%) will raise Rs 5,000 cr via QIP. 

Patel Engineering rallied +7% intraday after signing an MoU with RVNL to jointly pursue hydro & infra projects. RVNL (+4%) won a Rs 203 cr from Indian Railways

SpiceJet cracked -6% intraday after the regulator put it on ‘enhanced’ surveillance over financial issues. PS - reports say the company has also furloughed 150 cabin crew members!

Here are the closing prints:

Stock
Made For Your Port-Folio

India’s port & shipping industry is growing rapidly and contributing to economic progress. Experts say that all-India port cargo should grow at a 6% CAGR over FY24-FY30, vs 5% in the last decade. A key trigger to this is in expanding operations to go from handling 1.5 billion tonnes in cargo now to 2.5 billion by FY30. To understand how best to play this theme, here are Jefferies top picks for the sector:

1) Adani Ports: The company expects its volumes to grow ~3x more than industry average thanks to new port additions (Vizhinjam and Haldia) and new shipping line tie-ups with global partners. Its logistics biz could also boom as it expects to boost its rail track coverage by 3x and warehousing capacity by 7x over the next few years. Finally, its international biz hasn’t really taken off, understandably with Haifa in Israel going through a rough time. But that should turn around in the next year. FYI - Jefferies sees a +30% upside from current levels!

2) JSW Infra: The second biggest player, JSW has plans to +2x its capacity by FY30, mostly through inorganic growth + privatisation bid wins. The company has been held back a bit because its group companies remain a dominant customer (~56% volumes), but it’s looking to grow beyond that. FYI - a key monitorable is how its recent acquisition of Navkar Logistics pans out. Jefferies has a target price of Rs 375 p/sh; +15% from current levels.

3) Gujarat Pipavav Port: The company, which operates only one port, has been seeing rough times. It reported a -14% YoY volume decline in Q1 over Red Sea disruptions. Bulk volumes dropped even higher (-18% YoY) because it stopped handling coal due to operational issues. Finally, its concession agreement is up for renewal in 2028. Almost everything depends on this. Jefferies says if it bags an extension at current revenue share (<5%) it could see a +21% upside. But a higher revenue share (the more likely option) is a huge potential negative.

Stocktwits Specials
Stocktwits India Momentum Index 🚀 

The Stocktwits India Momentum Index was +0.8% today! 

RVNL (+5%) bounced back sharply today to hit a 1-month high. Godfrey Phillips (+6%) closed up for a 5th straight day. On the other hand, Cochin Shipyard (-3.5%) closed down for a 4th consecutive week. HUDCO (-4.4%) is very close to dropping out.

PS - The Stocktwits India Momentum Index highlights the top 10 performing companies based on their weekly returns. Plus, we bring you tons of exclusive content on the featured stocks including SEBI RA trade ideas, latest news & earnings updates, fundamental and technical insights.