Tale of the Tape 

Howdy folks. Markets FINALLY snapped their 8-day losing streak.

Nifty and Sensex clawed their way back to end in the green after a weak start. Can we extend these gains tomorrow or are we in a “sell on rise” market? Midcaps (+0.4%) posted decent gains, while Smallcaps were flat. The advance-decline ratio was split evenly. PS - the Stocktwits Sentiment Meter continues to be negative!

Most sectors ended higher. Pharma (+1.3%) was the top gainer, followed by Metals (+0.8%) and Oil & Gas (+0.7%).  IT (-0.6%) and Auto (-0.5%) saw some selling pressure.

GSK Pharma (+16%) soared on a solid Q3 show. Meanwhile, Utkarsh SFB sank after its asset quality sank to the bottom of the ocean. More details below. 

Bajaj Finserv AMC is launching a new multi cap fund! Is this what you need amid all this volatility? Get all the deets below.

AGS Transact Technologies, Zen Technologies and RVNL saw big moves today. Check out their charts below.

Sombre listing. Ajax Engineering closed at Rs 595 p/sh; -5% from its IPO price.

United Spirits (-1%) was in focus after the GOI slashed tariffs on American bourbon whisky.

Afcons Infra was up +2% after Nomura said it sees a ~30% upside from current levels.

Results reactions. Borosil Renewables was down -4% after its Q3 losses widened. Glenmark Pharma gained +4% after its India sales grew a whopping +300% YoY.

Senco Gold dropped another -7% today as the market digested its Q3 googly. PS - the stock is down -28% over the last couple trading sessions.

Here are the closing prints:

Earnings
Earnings Roundup

Utkarsh Small Finance Bank (-11%) hit a new all-time low after a rough Q3! Provisions jumped over +4x YoY to hit Rs 434 cr. Slippages were high at an annualised ~16%, led mainly by the microfinance portfolio. 

The lender’s ‘special mention accounts’, aka loans which have a high chance of becoming an NPA, in the microfinance vertical stood at ~10% which means slippages will remain elevated in the near-term! All of this took a big hit on asset quality. Finally, higher cost of funds dragged down the bottomline.

Here is its Q3 report card:

• Net Interest Income: Rs 480 cr; -1% YoY

• Net Loss: Rs 168 cr vs Rs 116 cr profit YoY

• Gross NPA: 6.17% vs 3.04% YoY

• Net NPA: 2.5% vs 0.19% YoY

At Stocktwits, we’ve been warning you about microfinance for sometime. And the chickens are clearly coming home to roost. Zooming out, the management says overall stress levels are “peaking out” and it expects collection efficiency improvement in Q4FY25 and Q1FY26. ILEt’s see how this goes.

Utkarsh SFB is -55% over the last year.

GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (+18%) was the top NSE 500 gainer after solid Q3 results. Strong demand across the board saw ALL verticals grow in the double-digits. FYI - its core ‘general medicine’ vertical saw +11% YoY bump in underlying volumes despite a +3% price hike. The firm’s speciality portfolio also grew +37% YoY. A tighter control on costs helped bump margins which in turn lifted profits. 

Here are its key stats:

• Revenue: Rs 949 cr; +18% YoY

• EBITDA:Rs 292 cr; +34% YoY

• EBITDA Margin: 30.7% vs 27% YoY

• PAT: Rs 230 cr; +5x

Big Picture: The December quarter is quickly becoming a litmus test for many pharma firms, with GSK joining the winner’s pack. The company has killed it despite a lotta volatility in 2024. Looking ahead, it has two new cancer drugs in the pipeline whose success is being closely watched.

GlaxoSmithKline is +6% over the last year.

Stocktwits Specials
Yes Bank: 5-Min Review!

Yes Bank is down more than -30% since we reviewed it in April 2024. Is it a value buy at current levels or should you avoid it? Check out our latest video where we decode the company’s turnaround status including its latest Q3 results, technical chart setup and analyst ratings in LESS THAN 5 MINUTES!