Bharti Airtel, Cipla & more: Top stocks to watch on May 18

Jefferies has a buy rating on Bharti Airtel with the target price raised to Rs 2,350 from Rs 2,250. Analysts said the telecom major’s Jan-March quarter (Q4FY26) revenues and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) beat analysts’ estimates, but normalised profits missed estimates. India mobile average revenue per user (ARPU), strong growth in homes and Africa, and healthy free cash flow (FCF) generation were the key highlights. The proposed share swap for Airtel Africa is on better-than-expected terms and may lower concerns on future stake sales by Singtel.JP Morgan upgraded Cipla to overweight with the target price at Rs 1,550. Analysts upgrade the stock on improved earnings growth visibility driven by complex US launches over the next two years, coupled with attractive valuations post the recent correction. The company’s management guided for a US exit run-rate of $1 billion in FY27, a material step-up from the current quarterly run-rate of about $155 million. The company’s pipeline of launches looks promising with gVentolin (launch soon), gAdvair (first half of the year), gSymbicort (second half of the year 2H), and select peptides including a material one. Analysts kept their estimates largely unchanged but raised the multiple as the pipeline now has more tangible milestones (approvals in hand, PAI done, goal dates), which gave them higher confidence on execution. Morgan Stanley maintained its underweight rating on Dixon Technologies with the target price at Rs 8,157. Analysts said the company’s Q4FY26 revenue growth was at 2% while EBITDA declined 8% on the year (YoY). Also its revenue and EBITDA missed estimates by 12% and 17% respectively, while EBITDA margin contracted by 40 basis points (100 basis points or bps = 1 percentage point) YoY to 3.9%. Mobile and EMS revenue rose 4% YoY while margins dipped to 3.6%. Its consumer electronics revenue growth was at 1% YoY while adjusted PAT was in line aided by lower interest and minority interest costs.HDFC Securities Institutional Equities has upgraded Hyundai Motor India to add with the target price hiked to Rs 2,103. Analysts said they were finally sensing some aggression from the management toward domestic growth, market share, and focus on growing exports. While they do not expect the company to revive meaningful market share just yet considering the intensifying competition in the SUV space, they believe the intent and efforts could materialize better in the medium to long term, considering the capability of the parent company. Making HMIL the global production hub for Venue, as well as focus of expanding to other geographies, augurs well. Additionally, the current CAFÉ 3 draft and the company’s focus on CNG and upcoming launch of a dedicated EV in the compact SUV space, puts the company in a better spot with regard to the upcoming CAFÉ 3 norms. They said the key risk for the stock is the intensifying competition in both the domestic and the export markets.Nomura has a buy rating on Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals with the target price at Rs 335. Analysts said the company’s growth recovery was on track. Its Q4FY26 EBITDA was ahead and its push across a wider portfolio, normal summer to drive growth. They said the stock’s valuation remains attractive at 25x FY28 earnings per share (EPS).(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market, other asset classes or personal finance management tips given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)