Top Stocks to Buy: JP Morgan on Bajaj Finance, CLSA on Varun Beverages, Nomura on Nykaa, Citi on Jubilant Foodworks

JP Morgan has an overweight rating on Bajaj Finance with the target price at Rs 1,080. Analysts attended the management meet and came out with three important takeaways. For one, the company’s growth momentum on the ground remains strong despite macro concerns on higher global oil prices and supply chain disruptions over the last few months. Secondly, its asset quality trends (bounce rates, collection efficiency) remain benign across loan segments with no visible impact from the West Asia conflict. And lastly, on net interest margins (NIMs): The company remains confident of delivering on its guidance of a 10-12 basis points (100 basis points or bps = 1 percentage point) NIM decline in FY27 despite the tight liquidity environment and recent spike in funding costs. Overall, the company’s management reiterated its long-term focus on building for scale without compromising on risk discipline. Analysts retained their positive view on the company, driven by a combination of healthy loan growth, operating cost leverage from AI initiatives and credit cost decline that should support a 26% earnings compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) over FY26-FY28.

CLSA has a high conviction outperform rating on Varun Beverages with the target price at Rs 654. Analysts said the company has entered into a partnership with Asahi Group Holdings to manufacture, distribute and sell the CALPIS brand—a fermented milk-based beverage with over a century of presence in Japan. Asahi will be responsible for product development and technical support, and its Indian subsidiary will handle marketing and brand management. The alliance is strategically positive as it adds a differentiated fermented dairy-based ready-to-drink (RTD) offering (akin to a premium lassi sub-segment) to VBL’s existing portfolio. Importantly, it underscores VBL’s ability to leverage its strong manufacturing base and extensive distribution network—including its existing cold-chain infrastructure.

Nomura has a buy on Nykaa with the target price at Rs 317. Analysts attended the investor day and came out with some key takeaways. They said that the company gave a strong FY30 guidance. It guided revenue to grow by 2.5-3x and expand earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margins to early-/mid-teens by FY30. Consumer preference is shifting toward discovery-led new-age brands, and Nykaa benefits through its trusted platform, content ecosystem and owned brands, enabling it to capture a disproportionate share of premium lifestyle spending.

Citigroup has a buy on Jubilant Foodworks with the target price at Rs 650. Analysts attended the management meet and came out with some important takeaways. Firstly, Domino’s India like-for-like (LFL) should remain in the 5–7% medium-term range despite quarterly volatility and high base effects. Secondly, the deceleration in the Jan-March quarter (Q4FY26) was driven by high base, lower free-delivery threshold and weaker dine-in/takeaway, rather than demand weakness. The management has already taken calibrated pricing actions. They also said the dine-in recovery will likely be longer than delivery average basket value (ABV) recovery, with 400–500 Domino’s Dine-In/Take-Away (DITA)-heavy stores being worked on through menu, experience and refurbishment. The company also said that margin pressure from cost inflation should be partially offset by pricing/mix actions, and the management remains confident of 200bps standalone margin expansion (FY24-FY28). Lastly, Popeyes continues to show improving economics, but scale-up will remain disciplined until the store model is fully proven.

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