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ICICI Bank Q2 Results: Brokerages Bullish After Strong Performance With Up To 45% Return Potential
- •ICICI Bank reported better-than-expected Q2 results, prompting global brokerages to turn highly bullish on the stock.
- •Goldman Sachs is the most optimistic, setting a target price of Rs 2,025 which indicates a potential upside of nearly 45 percent from the previous close.
- •JPMorgan maintained an overweight rating with a target of Rs 1,800, noting that profit after tax surpassed estimates by 11 percent.
- •Nomura raised its target price from Rs 1,700 to Rs 1,740 per share while keeping a buy rating on the stock.
- •Other major firms like Bernstein and UBS also maintained positive ratings, driven by robust loan growth and solid asset quality.
Key Questions Answered
Following better-than-expected Q2 results, major global brokerages have turned bullish on ICICI Bank. Goldman Sachs set the highest target price at Rs 2,025 with a 'Buy' rating, projecting nearly 45% upside from its previous close. Bernstein gave an 'outperform' rating with an Rs 1,800 target, while JPMorgan maintained an 'overweight' rating with an Rs 1,800 target. Additionally, Nomura raised its target price to Rs 1,740 and UBS maintained a 'Buy' rating with an Rs 1,800 target.
ICICI Bank reported a 20.1 percent year-on-year rise in standalone net profit to Rs 14,843 crore for the September quarter, outperforming market expectations. Net interest income (NII) increased by 17.7 percent to reach Rs 25,339 crore. Furthermore, total advances grew robustly by 30 percent year-on-year to Rs 18.32 lakh crore, while total deposits increased by 27.1 percent to Rs 20.50 lakh crore.
The bank's net interest margin (NIM) stood at 4.18 percent in the July-September quarter, declining sequentially from 4.36 percent in the preceding quarter. This margin pressure was primarily influenced by the impact of foreign currency non-resident (FCNR-B) deposits raised under the RBI's swap window. However, management expects margins to bottom out in the third quarter before recovering in the fourth quarter.
