Tale of the Tape 

Good evening everyone. Markets got KO-ed today!

Nifty (-1.4%) and Sensex (-1.3%) opened gap down and just kept falling, following weak global sentiment. Midcaps (-0.6%) and Smallcaps (-0.7%) weren’t spared either. 383 stocks in the NSE 500 ended in the red.

Not a single sector ended in the green. PSU Banks (-1.8%), Metals (-1.6%) and Oil & Gas (-1.6%) got beat up the most.

Antique Broking believes this smallcap stock could rally +35%. Read our top story below to find out more.

Mamata Machinery IPO kicks off later this week. Check out our analysis below to help you decide whether to subscribe.

Fertiliser stocks were on a roll today. Take a look at their charts below to find out why.

Piramal Pharma gained +4% after JM Financial initiated coverage on the stock; the brokerage sees a +30% upside from current levels.

ITC was in focus after it set January 1, 2025 as the effective date for its hotel biz demerger.

Indoco Remedies fell over -6% before recouping its losses after the USFDA red-flagged its Goa unit.

TARC was locked in a -10% lower circuit after it said SEBI had appointed a forensic auditor to look into its financials.

Gravita India (+1%) launched its Rs 750 cr QIP.

Texmaco Rail rallied +4% intraday after bagging a Rs 187 cr order from the Chhattisgarh government.

Anant Raj (+2%) was up after its promoters invested Rs 100 cr into the company.

Here are the closing prints:

Stock
Quess Corp: Staging A Comeback?

Quess Corp (+8%) was the top NSE 500 gainer in an otherwise weak market after Antique Stock Broking initiated coverage. Here’s what you need to know. 

For the unaware: Quess is India’s largest staffing company, with 3,000 partner clients. While its bread-and-butter are staffing solutions, the company has forayed into tech solutions (customer management) and digital products to help drive employee productivity.

So what’s popping? Let’s start with demand & growth triggers first. Business has been a little sluggish over the last two years due to the IT slowdown. But top firms like TCS & Infosys have restarted hiring and FY25 is shaping up to be a LOT better than expected. FYI - Quess also has been pivoting to servicing GCCs (global capability centres), whose manpower is projected to jump to 2.8 million by FY29 vs 1.9 million now. 

The bottomline? Combined with the PLI-driven manufacturing boom -- which should drive demand for contract labour -- the growth runway looks solid. And then there’s the internal stuff. Quess is spinning off its HR outsourcing & industrial services verticals, which is a BIG value unlocking move. The new units should be listed in Q1FY26. 

Beyond this, the company’s margins have been muted for some time partly due to investments in its products biz. This will start paying off, with the vertical projected to breakeven by FY25-end! 

TL;DR: Antique Stock Broking projects Quess’s topline to grow at a CAGR of ~14% over FY24-27 on an IT rebound, GCC growth & PLI manufacturing boom. A successful restructuring + a margin improvement are key things to watch out for though. The brokerage has a target price of Rs 1,000 p/sh; +36% upside from current levels!

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