Select banks, laggards get active ahead of Q3 nos | Economic Times

Stock futures of select banks are seeing sizeable build-up in the January series as traders see action around the third quarter results. There is also renewed interest in stocks that have not rallied in the past few months. The Sensex and Nifty have rallied over 85 per cent from their March lows. ET takes a look at 5 stocks that are garnering high interest in the futures segment and details their near-term outlook.Punjab National Bank CMP: Rs 35.2 Share Price Change: 6.51 per cent OI Chg in Jan series: 270 per cent PNB has seen the highest addition in open interest on build-up of long positions. “Everyone wants to get into stocks that haven’t moved. There is talk that results will be better and PSU banks have relatively underperformed. I prefer large-caps like ICICI Bank; PSU banks are a value trap,” said Sanjiv Bhasin, director, IIFL Securities. Rajesh Palviya, HeadTechnicals and Derivatives at Axis Securities, said the stock is on the verge of a breakout. Once it crosses Rs 37, it can see a good move to Rs 44, said Palviya.Info Edge (India)CMP: Rs 5,259.8 Share Price Change: 10.55 per cent OI Chg in Jan series: 30.16 per cent Reports of Zomato planning to go public has helped Info Edge scale new highs. Info Edge has 19.3 per cent stake in the online food delivery platform. The stock has gained about 11 per cent in the calendar year 2021 and over 200 per cent from its March 2020 lows. Ambit Capital said in a recent note that a valuation uplift is unlikely for Info Edge from the IPO of Zomato. The brokerage has a sell rating on Info Edge with a target price of Rs 4,217Mahanagar Gas CMP: Rs 1,129.5 Share Price Change: 6.44 per cent OI Chg in Jan series: 25.15 per cent Analysts believe rising focus on pollution has improved outlook for city gas distribution cos such as Mahanagar Gas. Nomura said MGL has not chased opportunities aggressively beyond Greater Mumbai but has consistently reported strongest margins among the three city gas distribution cos. “While we expect margins to remain strong, earnings growth is likely to be weaker vs peers. However, with its relative under-performance, valuations are not demanding,” said Nomura.RBL Bank CMP: Rs 264.2 Share Price Change: 14.35 per cent OI Chg in Jan series: 18.54 per cent Much of the open interest addition happened since Tuesday CLSA initiated coverage on the stock. CLSA started coverage with a buy rating and target price of Rs 330. The brokerage expects RBL to deliver 13 per cent return on equity by FY23 as credit costs normalise post COVID, with the ability to leverage up further. Chandan Taparia, derivatives analyst, Motilal Oswal, said the stock has given consolidation breakout by surpassing the hurdle of Rs 245 and now it can go to Rs 275.Amara Raja Batteries CMP: Rs 978.6 Share Price Change: 5.92 per cent OI Chg in Jan series: 21.44 per cent Strong technical trends are helping the stock gain traction in the January derivatives series. “The stock has given a consolidation breakout of the last 25 sessions and it is trading at 5-year high levels. We expect the positive momentum to continue and the stock is likely to go up to Rs 1,100 with support at Rs 935 level,” said Taparia of Motilal Oswal.