Ten stocks that won Covid-19 war in Q4 itself

2. Agrochemicals company UPL reported over 2.61 times jump in profit at Rs 761 crore against last year’s Rs 291 crore. Sales jumped 30.68 per cent for the quarter to Rs 11,141 crore from Rs 8,525 crore YoY. Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities has maintained a price target of Rs 643, a 70 per cent upside on current market price.

3. Hyderabad-based drug maker Laurus Labs reported over 100 per cent jump in profit. The bottomline for this drugmaker expanded 155 per cent to Rs 110.15 crore from Rs 43.17 crore YoY. Sales grew 32 per cent to Rs 839 crore for the quarter. The company expects to sustain the earnings momentum in FY21, backed by strong order visibility in formulations.

4&5. Two other drugmakers Alembic Pharma and Ajanta Pharma reported 30-32 per cent rise in sales and 45-55 per cent jump in Q4 profits. YES Securities believes the market would reward Alembic on better visibility of revenues and profits. It said the stock could trade at a premium to the sectoral average.

6. Bottler Varun Beverages also surprised the Street with a 53 per cent YoY jump in profit to Rs 60 crore on a 23 per cent rise in sales at Rs 1,699.24 crore.The company is expected to consolidate its position in newly acquired territories, and gain market share in existing territory.

7,8,9&10.Among others, Avenue Supermarts, Hexaware Technologies L&T Infotech and TV18 Broadcast also reported solid top and bottom line expansion in March quarter. However, despite strong growth, analysts see up to 20 per cent downside for Radhakishan Damani-led Avenue Supermarts, citing expensive valuations.Hexaware says the current crisis will provide opportunities for market share gains, but expects meaningful weakness in revenues and margins in June quarter. Analysts are largely neutral on this stock. L&T Infotech expects Covid-19 impact on revenues to be minimal thanks to its lack of exposure to BPOs.

But analysts find the stock richly valued. “We value LTI now on 16 times earnings multiple to arrive at a changed target price of Rs 1,598 (from Rs 1,403). Valuations will curtail upside now. We maintain ‘hold’ rating," said Prabhudas Lilladher.In case of TV18 Broadcast, analysts' 'buy' ratings on the stock remain same today as they were three months ago.