Equity Alert: Piramal Life up; PE players, MNCs may buy stake in co

[K.Karthik Raja]

Equity Alert: Piramal Life up; PE players, MNCs may buy stake in co
MUMBAI--1:35PM--Piramal Life Sciences surged 10% to 298 rupees on
a
CNBC-TV18 report several private equity players and multinational
pharmaceutical
corporations are in a race to pick up strategic stake in the company,
dealers
said.
MPM Cap and Orbimed, two large healthcare global funds, are eyeing
stake
in the company, the report said quoting sources.
Dealers remain positive on the stock and have a medium-term price
target
of 500-550 rupees.
"An out-licensing deal for its R&D products will act as a
catalyst, which
would lead to higher valuations of the company. Besides, the positive
outcome
of Phase II trials for P276 (oncology molecule) would add credence to
the
company's pipeline," Emkay Shares and Stock Brokers said.
The brokerage values Piramal Life Sciences at 570 rupees a share.
So far, 1.1 mln shares of the company have been traded on NSE. The
stock
is not traded in the futures and options segment. (Deepika D.
Thapliyal)
NW18 Equity Alert: Bank shares up on value buying; HDFC Bank rises 5%
MUMBAI--1PM--Bank shares were up 1-6% on value buying after having
dropped
around 45% from their January highs, dealers said.
State Bank of India and ICICI Bank were up 3% and 2%,
respectively. HDFC
Bank gained 5%.
"Advance tax numbers from SBI and ICICI have been substantially
higher,
indicating that worries an economic slowdown would affect banks' non-
performing
assets were overdone," said Mangesh Kulkarni, analyst, Almondz Global
Securities.
SBI's Apr-Jun advance tax stood at 6.63 bln rupees compared with
5.03 bln
rupees last year. ICICI's advance tax was 3.40 bln rupees, up from
2.50 bln
rupees a year ago.
Citigroup has upgraded HDFC Bank and Axis Bank to "buy" from
"hold" as they
are "less exposed to rising rates, have growth and asset books that
should hold
up, and have valuation premiums to the sector that should expand in
tough
times."
The brokerage has a target of 1,450 rupees and 912 rupees,
respectively,
on the stocks.
Kulkarni said in the short-term banks are likely to see some
downside again
on profit sales, but he is positive in the long-term. His picks
include ICICI
Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, and Canara Bank. (Shikha Lal)
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