Top stock picks for 2021 — Brokerages are betting big on Bharti Airtel, Tech M, HUL, Biocon, and Sun Pharma

• From nearly 3,000-odd stocks that are actively traded on BSE, Business Insider has culled out the common themes from top brokerages recommendations on what the ‘lucky’ bets could be.
• Here’s a quick look at the popular stocks in the brokerage recommendation report for New Year 2021.
• Check out the latest news and updates on Business Insider.

While New Year’s is widely celebrated across the world, this is also the beginning of a markedly special occasion for the stock traders and the investor community. As the new calendar year begins, investors put a lot of emphasis on making changes to their portfolio and betting on stocks that they hope will offer outsized returns.

However, it is hard to pick up and predict which stock may perform and which may not. From nearly 3,000-odd stocks that are actively traded on BSE, Business Insider has culled out the common themes from top brokerages recommendations on what the ‘lucky’ bets could be. The recent earnings performance has been factored in by those recommending the top stocks.

Here’s a quick look at the popular stocks in brokerage recommendation report for New Year 2021:

Bharti Airtel

Nearly three out of top five brokerages have recommended a ‘Buy’ rating for Bharti Airtel with a target price set beyond ₹620. The ICICI Direct report highlighted Bharti Airtel has seen sharp moves last year and with liquidity flow likely to remain higher, the stock may outperform. Moreover, it is likely to remain positive till it holds above its long term mean levels in the coming months.

Source: Brokerage reports

Tech Mahindra

Tech Mahindra was among one of the top choices by brokerages for New Year 2021 stock picks. According to ICICI Direct, Tech Mahindra is among the few technology stocks where FIIs have increased their stake in the past year.

Given its resilient business structure from a long- term perspective Axis Securities has also reiterated a ‘Buy’ rating for the stock.

Source: Brokerage reports

Biocon

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw led biopharmaceutical company Biocon is also expected to achieve the target price of over ₹580. According to Axis Securities, driven by market share gains and new launches in these high-margin biosimilars, the company's biologics segment is expected to post robust revenue growth (approximately in mid-twenties) over the next two-three years.

ICICI Direct report also pointed out that FIIs have also shown faith in the stock and continuously increased their stake in the company.

Source: Brokerage reports

Sun Pharma

Sun Pharma has topped the list of ‘top stocks to watch’ curated by Motilal Oswal and HDFC Securities. Although the companies have given a target price, they have listed out a range of key pointers that may play out positively for the stock.

According to Motilal Oswal, a superior product mix (including the higher share of Specialty products), complemented by cost optimization measures, led to a strong beat on 2QFY21 earnings. “We remain positive on Sun Pharma on account of a better outlook for its Specialty portfolio, a robust ANDA pipeline, and increasing market share in the Branded Generics segment,” it said in its report.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL)

The consumer staple major HUL was another top choice among the brokerages. According to Motilal Oswal, staples appear to have remained resilient, and demand in the discretionary category seems to be recovering. Hence the structural and near-term investment case for HUL remains strong.

These are the other stocks that the top brokerages recommend to watch out for:

Source: Brokerage reports