Brokerages Bullish on Indian Stocks Amid Defence Spending Boom

Several top brokerages have issued positive recommendations on five Indian stocks that they believe have significant upside potential. Bharat Electronics (BEL) and ICICI Bank are among them, with Goldman Sachs and Macquarie seeing growth opportunities in the defence electronics major.

Macquarie has an 'Outperform' rating on BEL with a target price of Rs 550, implying an upside of approximately 33.2%. The brokerage cites continued spending on defence, power infrastructure, and domestic manufacturing as drivers of growth for the company. Macquarie also expects sustained demand for locally manufactured defence systems to support BEL's order inflows and earnings.

Goldman Sachs has a 'Buy' rating on BEL with a 12-month target price of Rs 445, implying an upside of approximately 7.7%. The brokerage believes that BEL will benefit from India's continued push towards defence indigenisation and higher procurement of domestically produced military equipment. Goldman Sachs also sees the company playing a key role in indigenous air-defence programmes.

Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) has received positive calls from Bernstein and PL Capital, with both brokerages citing the company's healthy balance sheet and growing international business as drivers of growth. Bernstein expects APSEZ to benefit from its diversified network and exposure to India's growing trade volumes.

Eternal has also been recommended by multiple brokerages, including Bernstein and Emkay. Both brokerages are bullish on the quick-commerce segment, citing healthy earnings and net operating value growth for Eternal. Emkay expects Eternal's quarterly performance to continue exceeding expectations, with Blinkit's net operating value growing 19.1% quarter-on-quarter.

Solar Industries India has received 'Buy' calls from Goldman Sachs and Elara Capital, both of whom see the company benefiting from its growing defence business. Goldman Sachs believes that Solar Industries will expand beyond its traditional explosives business into propellants, missile-related products, and other defence applications, making it a significant contributor to the company's future growth.