Axis Bank shares have no 'sell' ratings after Q3 results; Check latest upgrades, targets

None of the 50 analysts that have coverage on Mumbai-based private lender Axis Bank Ltd. have a "sell" rating on the stock after it reported its third quarter results on Saturday. Brokerages such as Citi even upgraded the stock and revised its price target higher.

44 out of the 50 analysts that now cover Axis Bank have a "buy" rating on the stock, while the other six have a "hold" rating.

Citi upgraded Axis Bank to "buy" from its earlier rating of "neutral", and revised its price target higher to ₹1,463 from ₹1,323 earlier.

The brokerage wrote in its note that Axis Bank's core earnings surprised positively yet again and it sees the lender's Returns on Assets at 1.5% led by lower slippages, falling credit costs, and lower employee expenses.

All of these positives though, were partially mitigated by muted treasury gains and modest fee growth.

Here's a look at what other analysts had to say:

Bernstein

The brokerage maintained its "outperform" rating on the stock with a price target of ₹1,480. It attributed the fall in Axis Bank's margins, despite cost of funds being lower, to a corporate-led loan-mix shift.

Asset quality trends remained stable, while higher credit costs, mainly due to the ongoing technical impact, kept a lid on its profitability.

CLSA

The brokerage also has a "outperform" rating on Axis Bank with a price target of ₹1,500.

CLSA stated that Axis Bank reported a strong third quarter with its Net Interest Income, Pre-Provisioning Operating Profit and Profit Before Tax (PBT) beating their estimates by 2%, 7% and 10% respectively.

It called Axis Bank's asset quality improvement the highlight of the quarter.

Nomura

Nomura's "buy" rating on Axis Bank comes with a price target of ₹1,540.

It said that Axis Bank's credit cost visibility is improving and in a seasonally weak quarter, asset quality saw improvement with growth trends being on the rise.

The brokerage expects Axis Bank's Return on Assets (RoA) to be between 1.7% to 1.8%, while its Return on Equity (RoE) to be at 15% over financial year 2027-2028, resulting in its earnings growing at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate of 26% over the same time frame.

At a 21% discount to Kotak Mahindra Bank, Nomura finds Axis Bank's valuations to be attractive.

Jefferies

Jefferies has a price target of ₹1,550 on Axis Bank, which comes with a "buy" rating as well.

However, it expects a slight moderation in strong loan growth as another rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India may force the lender towards margin management or slower growth.

Yet, it sees Axis Bank's valuations at 1.6 times one-year forward adjusted price-to-book for Return on Equity (RoE) of 14% to be attractive, similar to Nomura.

Morgan Stanley has the highest price target on Axis Bank at ₹1,650 and that implies a potential upside of 32% from last Friday's closing levels.

Axis Bank's asset quality improved significantly during the December quarter with provisions declining by 37% on a sequential basis.

Shares of Axis Bank ended 3.2% lower last Friday during the market sell-off at ₹1,253.9. The stock has risen 32% over the last 12 months.