Aditya Birla Capital, GAIL among top 10 stocks to 'buy' in 2022: HDFC Securities

HDFC Securities has given a 'buy' call ten stocks.

New Delhi: For 2022, brokerage house HDFC Securities has given a 'buy' call on these ten stocks -- Aditya Birla Capital, Gail India, Hindustan Zinc, Ipca Labs, Mahindra & Mahindra, Max Financial, Max Healthcare, State Bank of India, Tech Mahindra, Zee Entertainment.

Aditya Birla Capital is the holding company of all the financial services businesses of the Aditya Birla group.

"It continues its credible makeover journey to drive consolidated return ratios closer to franchise potential over the next three years," the brokerage said.

However, stiff competition from peers and new entrants and worsening of asset quality in the lending book due to the potential third wave of the Covid pandemic and slowdown in the economy are key concerns for the stock.

Gas transmission and distribution company GAIL is planning to expand in petrochemicals, speciality chemicals and renewables to supplement growth in its core business of natural gas marketing and transportation. It also intends to bid for new pipelines.

However, volatility in oil and gas prices, higher tariff reduction in existing pipelines and regulatory changes could impact its growth story in the near future, the brokerage said.

Hindustan Zinc is one of the world`s largest and India`s only integrated manufacturers of zinc-lead and silver and world`s second-largest zinc-lead miner.

It is India's largest primary zinc producer, with 77 per cent market share including alloys and 80 per cent without alloys.

"High operating efficiency is driven by fully integrated operations and low-cost, high-grade zinc reserves and with access to the bulk of lead-zinc deposits in Rajasthan through long-term agreements with the Government of India, hence the company should sustain as a low-cost producer of zinc over the medium term," it added.

For Ipca Labs, the brokerage house is positive on the back of strong volume growth in domestic formulation across products, cost competitive and consistent quality in active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) segments.

The key therapeutic segments include cardiac, pain management, anti-malarial and anti-diabetic, anti-infectives. The company derived 46 per cent of its revenues from the domestic market while 54 per cent from international markets in FY21.

In the case of Mahindra and Mahindra, world`s largest tractor manufacturer and the third largest passenger vehicle manufacturer in India, the brokerage house believes its product offerings could help outperform the entire automobile sector.

"M&M is targeting a 10 times increase in the agricultural implements segment to drive growth in the medium term (by 2027)," it added. Also Read: Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Portfolio: Brokerage firms give ‘Buy’ tag to THIS share

Having said that, chip shortages, commodity price inflation and the possibility of a third wave of Covid are key risks going forward for the company`s share price. Also Read: Thinking about your phone safety? Here’s how to keep your smartphone safe