Ajit Mishra, Vice President, Research, Religare Broking, answers readers' queries on a weekly basis.
Here are his replies to some of the 'buy, sell, hold or avoid?' emails that we have received.
If you want his advice on what you must do, please mail your questions to getahead@rediff.co.in with the subject line, 'Stock Market Query', along with your name, and Ajit Mishra will offer his unbiased views.
Shailendra S Yadav: I want to know about NBCC (I) Ltd Share. Holding 2000 shares.
Ajit Mishra: NBCC is in a downward trend as Q1 results were hit by poor performance in real estate segment. The stock will take time to revive. We advise exit 50 per cent of the holdings.
Shaktiraj: I have invested for long term from 2: 3 years in the following shares, please advice: Axis Bank @Rs 737, DCB Bank @Rs213, Jindal Saw @Rs 91, Apex Frozen @Rs492.
Ajit Mishra:
- Axis Bank: Hold for long term
- DCB Bank: Hold for long term
- Jindal Saw: Financials have been weak. Exit on rise
- Apex Frozen: The industry is going through challenging times and revival may take a long time. Book losses partially
Rakesh Kumar: I have 1800 shares of South Indian Bank @ 12.85 and 450 NOCIL @ Rs 127. Please also guide on ICICI Pru Life Insurance at current level.
Ajit Mishra:
Fundamental view:
SIB has reported decent Q1FY20 numbers, hold for long-term. NOCIL is struggling due to its exposure to auto sector (rubber chemicals used in tyre) and therefore may remain under pressure unless demand revives for auto. We advise hold for long-term. ICICI Pru Life can be bought at current levels for 2: 3 year time horizon.
Technical view:
- SIB: Technically, it's looking extremely weak on short: term chart. Better to exit
- NOCIL: It has been witnessing correction for past more than a year now and may extend further. Better to exit or put strict SL at 80.50
- ICICI Pru Life: It has been witnessing consolidation in a broader market range however holding firmly above the support zone of 200 EMA on daily chart. One can hold long position with closing SL at 378
Anil MK: I am holding the following shares. Please advice if these shares are the right mid: and small: caps with 1 to 2 years prospects.
Ajit Mishra:
- Zee Entertainment 16 Nos @ 336: Decent to hold from long-term perspective though stake sale is the key upside trigger. Avoid fresh investments at this juncture.
- Castrol 70 @ 124: Hold
- Subros 17 @ 191: Hold
- Biocon 20@ 241: Hold
- Exide Ind 20@ 189: Hold
- Mind Cap 40@ 92:Hold
- Gail 15 @ 138:Hold
- Bharat Elec 20 @ 90:Sell on rise
- BHEL 30 @ 62: Sell
- Apcotex 20 @ 202: Sell
- Dhanuka Agri 16 @ 369: Sell on rise
- Parag Milk Food 35 @ 196: Sell
- Cadila Health 20 @ 220: Hold
- Nalco 100 @ 42:Hold
- Navneet 50@ 107: Hold
- Reliance 10 @ 1275:Hold
Ragunathan: I see Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd, which has capital of 4000 crore value. Could you suggest if I should buy the company and how long to hold?
Ajit Mishra: Reliance has a controlling stake in the company but Q1FY20 results have not been good. Buy on correction.
Ajaykumar Seth: I want to invest in stock market. Kindly suggest entry: level for following stocks.
Ajit Mishra: We suggest not to enter at one go rather accumulate on every 3: 5 per cent decline in prices from the current levels.
- Maruti Suzuki: Can be bought at current price levels and add more on dips.
- L&T: Buy on dips
- TCS: Buy on dips
- HDFC AMC:Buy on dips
- ICICI Bank: Buy on dips
Anand C Mokashi: I had bought 4250 HDIL shares with at Rs 29.86. Currently the stock is trading at Rs 11.75. Kindly advice whether to buy sell or hold?
Ajit Mishra: Sell the shares as the stock's fundamentals are deteriorating.
Uday Dasgupta: Holding good numbers of stocks in GMR Infrastructure and GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd for several years at a loss. Hold or sell? Any chance of price going northwards in the short/long term?
Ajit Mishra:
Long Term View:
Infra space is facing lots of challenges and these stocks may remain under pressure in the near: term. We recommend to exit.
Short Term View:
Technically, both the counters (GMR INFRA & GVKPIL) are looking extremely weak on short: term chart. Better to exit.
J K Batheja: I am holding 100 shares of Thomas Cook @Rs 270. Pl advise whether to hold or exit.
Ajit Mishra: Exit on rise as travel and tourism sector is witnessing immense competition off late.
Krishna Bharani: I have 100 shares of Natco Pharma @ Rs 650 avg price. I'm long term investor can hold for 2: 3 years. Can you please tell your view on Natco Pharma? Any advice from pharma space for fresh buying hoping pharma sector will bounce back in 2: 3 years.
Ajit Mishra: Hold Natco Pharma. Other stocks to consider are Cipla and Biocon.
Hari: How about Yes Bank (will it appreciate over 1: 2 years)? BF Investments and PC Jewellers?
Ajit Mishra:
Yes Bank: It has lots of challenges in terms of slowing loan book growth, increasing stressed assets, etc and will take time to revive. Avoid the stock. Also, avoid BF Investments and PC Jewellers on the basis of poor fundamentals.
S Dutta: Based on my own research I want to enter into the following stocks for a period of 3 years. Your advice:
- ICICI Bank
- Tata Chem
- Dr Reddy's
- Tejas Network
- Firstsource
- TBZ
- Tech Mahindra
- Exide
Kindly suggest whether they are good for a middle-class retail investor like me and at what price should I buy them? Total corpus Rs 4 lakh and it will be distributed among them.
Ajit Mishra: Out of the above stocks, we recommend to buy ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra and Exide for long term on dips.
Naveen Kumar Sharma: I have 800 shares of Edelweiss @ 374. What to do?
Ajit Mishra:The company's NBFC and broking business is under pressure. Exit on an up-move in the stock.
Sanjoy Dutta Gupta: Your advice on these shares:
- Suprajit Engineering
- TATA Steel BSL
- Motherson Sumi
- IDFC First Bank
- LT Foods
- ITC
Ajit Mishra: Hold ITC, IDFC First and Motherson Sumi for long term. Rest of the stocks exit on rise.
Amit Dey: I am a beginner in the stock market. Initially, I want to invest Rs 50,000 in shares for a period of 2-3 years. Please suggest which shares to buy on the basis of current stock market valuation?
Ajit Mishra: You can consider stocks like HDFC, HDFC Bank, Britannia, Axis Bank and Reliance Industries. However, buy in a staggered manner as market valuations are stretched and there may be further correction.
Maheswar Das: I seek your considered opinion on the following shares currently in my holding portfolio.
- Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.
- MRPL
- ACE Action Construction Eqipment Ltd.
- Orient Paper and Industries Ltd.
Shall I hold these shares? If I exit now, I shall incur huge loss since all these shares are trading much lower than my purchase price. The price at which I acquired the shares are as follows: IOC: 150, MRPL: 77, ACE: 95 & Orient Paper: 42.
Ajit Mishra: IOC hold for long term. ACE and Orient Paper have weak fundamentals currently and hence one may book losses on any bounce on these stocks.
Ashish: What are the prospects of MRPL shares?
Ajit Mishra: MRPL reported net loss of Rs 500 crore in Q1FY20. Further, there is still no clarity on its merger with HPCL. The stock has limited upside in the near future.
Keshav Tamhankar: Is it good time to start investing in pharma stocks? I have no pharma stocks in my portfolio at present? Which pharma stocks would be good for long term?
Ajit Mishra: Pharma stocks are still reeling under the pricing pressure particularly in the US markets. Further, US FDA concerns still persist for most of the stocks. We suggest one can invest in stocks like Cipla, Biocon, and Syngene but in a staggered manner.
Praveen kumar: Sir, please advise long term view of the following stocks. I want to buy these stocks with a 5: year holding.
Ajit Mishra:
- Motherson Sumi: Long-term positive; buy at current levels and on dips
- RBL Bank: Avoid fresh investments at this level
- Godrej Agrovet: Buy at current levels
- Polycab Wires: Buy at current levels
- Natco Pharma: Buy on dips
Binoj Kumar: Please see the below stocks I am holding. Already I have booked losses by selling some of the bad performing stocks (Like Sintex Inds). So I am holding these stocks now. I can hold it for the long term.
Ajit Mishra:
- 50,000 shares of ALOK INDUSTRIES/TEXTI @ 3.6: Exit
- 3,000 shares of AYM SYNTEX @ 65: Exit
- 5,000 SHARES OF BOMBAY DYEING@ 115: Hold
- 2,000 SHARES OF DELTA CORP @ 205: Exit
- 50 SHARES EICHER MOTORS @ 20100: Hold
- 2,000 SHARES OF FUTURE CONSUMER @61: Exit
- 2,000 SHARES OF GULF PETROLEUM @65: Hold
- 100 SHARES OF HEG @ 2000: Exit
- 2,000 SHARES OF INDIABULL REAL ESTATE @195: Exit
- 10 SHARES OF MRF @ 57500: Hold
- 20,000 SHARES OF RATTAN INDIA POWER @ 3.45: Exit
- 5,000 SHARES OF NATIONAL FERTLIZERS LTD @70: Exit partially
- 2,000 SHARES OF YES BANK @120: Exit partially
Umar Farooq: I have bought 500 shares of Wockhardt Pharma. Stock is continuously falling. Please suggest also about Tata Motors 170 share @ 178 per share.
Ajit Mishra: Wochkard will be under pressure due to concerns in pharma sector and poor financial performance of the company. Book losses on an up-move. Tata Motors will also take time for revival as auto sector is in slowdown across the globe. The company's June domestic PV sales declined by ~39 per cent. Further, JLR story has not yet turned out to be positive for the company. Hold for at least 2-3 years.
Mahesh Gadkari: I'm holding 5,000 shares of GAIL purchased at Rs 145. What should I do now? Hold, sell or buy some more for averaging?
Ajit Mishra: GAIL is a good stock from long-term perspective. One can average the stock on dips.
Priyank: I am holding 1,800 shares of Ashok Leyand at 133. Should I hold? I also have following stocks in my portfolio. Shall I add shares at the current market rate or sell them?
Ajit Mishra:
- Ashok Leyland: should be hold for long-term. You may average at current price levels
- Avanti feeds: Hold
- Venky: Hold
- Maruti: Hold
- Solar: Hold
- Titan: Hold
Sunilkumar Manyath: I am holding following shares which have been bought several times over its current rate. Kindly advice if I should hold on or exit?
Ajit Mishra:
- Jain Irrigation: Exit
- SPARC: Exit
- NHPC: Exit
- Laxmi Vilas Bank: Exit
- Texmaco Rail: Exit
R K Goswami: I have 150 shares DHFL @Rs 132 and 120 shares of YES BANK @ Rs 173. Should I average them? Kindly give your valuable advice.
Ajit Mishra: Avoid averaging both the stocks as there are concerns on fundamentals/corporate governance.
Nripendra: Your opinion on Hero Moto Corp and Maruti, BEL, NBCC and NCC for long term.
Ajit Mishra: Hold Hero, Maruti, and NCC for long-term. Sell BEL and NBCC (at least 50 per cent).
Goutam Kumar Mallik: I have 55 Reliance Ind bought at the rate of Rs 1225. Should I sell or hold? And what would be the time frame?
Ajit Mishra: Hold for long-term (1-3 years) for healthy returns.
Dhaval Dave: I need advice for following stocks:
Ajit Mishra:
- JAMNA AUTO BOUGHT AT 60: Hold for long-term
- JAIN IRRIGATION BOUGHT @ 45: Exit
- TV 18 BROADCAST BOUGHT @ 40: Hold for long-term
- NCC BOUGHT @ 80: Hold for long-term
- J K TYRE BOUGHT @ 75: Hold for long-term
- J&K BANK BOUGHT @ 42: Exit
Bhanu: I am new to trading. I have some cash in hand at the moment. I want to create a diversified portfolio for long term. I have tried my hand in mutual fund but no luck with it. I would not mind keeping it blocked for next 5-7 years. Can you suggest me something to invest around 30-35 lakh in total in next few months? I might not be checking the portfolio regularly. I would like to buy it and leave it for a while.
Ajit Mishra: One can invest in the following stocks for long-term investment. However, do the investments in a staggered manner (partially) as there could be correction in few of these stocks going forward. HDFC, HDFC Bank, Britannia, Dabur, Titan, Maruti Suzuki, Eicher Motors, IGL, L&T, TCS, Axis Bank, Whirlpool, Dabur, KEI Industries, IFB Industries, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints, Cipla, Bajaj Finance.
Ashok Kumar: I am holding the below stocks which are performing badly. Can you please tell me your views on these stocks?
Ajit Mishra:
- DHFL: 1000 shares, down 60 per cent: Exit as fundamentals are deteriorating consistently.
- Future Consumer: 450, down 40 per cent: Hold
- JP Power: 20,000, down 50 per cent: Exit
- RBL: 40, down 40 per cent: Hold for long term. Avoid averaging at this level.
Ajay Srivastava: What's your view on stocks like NBCC, Jain Irrigation and IOC? Is this the right time to buy stocks?
Ajit Mishra: Avoid fresh investments in NBCC and Jain Irrigation. IOC can be bought at current levels.
Rounak Varalikar: I bought 150 shares of Aarti Drugs at Rs 665 per share before company's buyback offer but I could sell only 3 shares in buyback offer and remaining are lying with me. What should I do?
Ajit Mishra: The recent fall in Aarti drugs is due to lowering of FY20 revenue and profit guidance given slowdown in end: use industries. The company has recommended 1:1 bonus. One can hold for long-term.
Also I bought 100 shares of Motherson Sumi at Rs 145 per share. What should I do in both the cases?
Ajit Mishra: Motherson Sumi will be under pressure due to global slowdown. Hold for at least 2: 3 years.
Rajkamal: I have these shares. Please advice.
Ajit Mishra:
- ACE: Rs 115.6 average cost now trading at 74.5 long term outlook of 1 year. Please advice what to do: Exit on an up-move
- GINNIFILA: Rs 23.21 now trading at 7.95; please advice for long term possibility: Exit
- NECCLTD: Rs 13.03 now at 6.2; please advice if recovery possible in 6 months: It has been continuously trading in a declining trend line pattern and still there's no sign of reversal. EXIT
- TNPL: Rs 189 now at 154; please advice on long term perspective in 1 year.: Hold for long term
Prasad: Can you please advise on the following stocks that I am holding? Should I continue to hold, average or exit at loss, considering 2: 3 year timeline?
Ajit Mishra:
- Tata Motors: 100 @ 410: Hold, you may average at current levels
- RBL Bank: 100 @ 660: Hold, but avoid fresh buying
- Godrej Agrovet: 120 @ 590: Hold, you may average at current levels
- Auro Pharma: 50 @ 735: Hold for long term
- Ashok Leyland: 500 @ 91: Hold, you may average at current levels
Ajay Lamba: I have Larsen & Toubro, L&T Infotech, L&T Finace Holding, SBI, NTPC, Adani Enterprise and Adani Green Energy shares. Prices of all shares are less than my purchase price. Please suggest what to do.
Ajit Mishra: You can continue to hold Larsen & Toubro, L&T Infotech, L&T Finance Holding, SBI, and Adani Green Energy. Exit NTPC and Adani Enterprises on rise.
Paresh Desai: I am holding Ashok Leyland 1500 share @ 100 and Yes Bank 1000 share @ 120. Can you advice regarding both fundamentals and technicals of both the stocks and how long should I hold it?
Ajit Mishra:
Fundamental View:
Fundamentals of Ashok Leyland are decent but due to slowdown in auto sector, the stock has been suffering. You may hold the stock for long-term. Yes Bank is fundamentally weak, we will advise to exit the stock.
Technical View:
Ashok Leyland: Mostly auto packs are under performing these days and Ashok Leyland is no different. Looking still weak on chart so better to exit on any bounce.
YES Bank: Despite recovery in banking index, YES Bank has failed to show any sign of reversal. It's continuously maintaining its down trend and heading towards southward direction. EXIT
Shafaat Ahmad: I have few stocks of Maruti Suzuki at average of Rs 6900. Should I hold or exit now?
Ajit Mishra: The auto industry as a whole is facing slowdown. The near term outlook for the entire industry looks weak. However, from a long term perspective of 2-3 years we have a positive view on the stock and advise to hold.
Sandeep Golchha: I am holding MRF Tyre 11 shares @ 67,000. What is your advice as it's trading at 54,000 now?
Ajit Mishra: The stock might under-perform in the near term owing to the slowdown in auto sector. However, from a long term perspective of 2-3 years we would advise to hold the stock.
Rajagopalan: Holding Force Motors for the past 2 years. Please advice.
Ajit Mishra: We would advise to exit the stock considering the poor sales numbers reported by the company. Also, the stock has under-performed the auto index which is down by approximately 40 per cent in a year while shares of Force Motors lost around 95 per cent value during the same time.
Shreyas: Kindly suggest which stock should one invest & is it good time to buy? This is will be my first investment in shares & I would like to start with a very small amount of Rs 2000-5000.
Ajit Mishra: You can look for investment in FMCG stocks like Britannia, Dabur or ITC. Also, consider investments in HDFC group (HDFC, HDFC Bank, HDFC Life Insurance), etc.
Prashant Hirani: Want to invest in few stocks with horizon of 3 years. Kindly recommend some safe stocks. Expectation is 12 per cent return per year. How is TCS as an option?
Ajit Mishra: Following is the list of stocks in which you can invest
- FMCG: Britannia, Dabur or ITC
- Banking: HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank
- Consumer Durables: IFB Industries, Whirlpool, Voltas
- Automobile: Maruti Suzuki, Eicher Motors
- IT Sector: TCS, Infosys
Ankit: I want to invest Rs 20 lakh in stock market now. Which stocks should I look at with three: year horizon?
Ajit Mishra:
- FMCG: Britannia, Dabur or ITC
- Banking: HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank
- Consumer Durables: IFB Industries, Whirlpool, Voltas
- Automobile: Maruti Suzuki, Eicher Motors
- IT Sector: TCS, Infosys
Renuka prasad JN: I hold 7,000 Bharti Airtel Shares. What is your recommendation on its long term perspective? I bought 7,000 Vodafone Idea Shares in rights issue at Rs 12.50. What is your recommendation? Should I hold it for long term?
Ajit Mishra:
Bharti Airtel: We would advise to take partial exit as competition is increasing in telecom space.
Vodafone Idea: We would advise to exit as the company has been reporting losses for the past three consecutive years. The debt/equity ratio is also high at around 2:1 while it is constantly losing market share to its competitors.
Vilas Vitkar: I am a senior citizen and holding following stocks for last 15 years or so:
- Man Industries: 400 shares
- Hotel Leela Ventures: 500 shares
- Garware Polyester: 200 shares
- Gujarat Narmada Fertilizer: 300 shares
- Tata Motors: 500 shares
Will be thankful if you could suggest what I should do with these shares?
Ajit Mishra:
- Man Industries: Exit. Poor revenue and profit growth
- Hotel Leela Ventures: Exit. Promoters have pledged part of their holdings. Debt/equity ratio is also high
- Garware Polyester: Exit. Poor return ratios
- Gujarat Narmada Fertilizer: Hold for long term
- Tata Motors: The domestic auto sector has been witnessing a slowdown since a year now. Inline with this, the company's June domestic PV sales declined by ~39 per cent. Further, JLR story has not yet turned out to be positive for the company. In near term uncertainty around Brexit can also impact the company's operations. Hence, hold for long-term (at least 2-3 years).
Amit Tuteja: Can you please share your view on these stocks?
- Infosys
- Reliance
- Reliance Capital
- Aban Offshore
Ajit Mishra:
- Infosys: Hold
- Reliance: The company is focusing more on its retail business which has better margins and is less volatile. We have a positive view on the company and advise to buy at CMP and on dips
- Reliance Capital: Exit. Avoid any fresh buying in ADAG stocks
- Aban Offshore: Avoid/ Exit. The company has been reporting losses for the past four consecutive years
Abhijit M: I am looking at suggestions for the following:
- PNB
- PNB Housing
- DHFL
- Yes Bank
- Hindalco
Ajit Mishra:
- PNB: Exit/Avoid any fresh buying. The bank has been reporting losses
- PNB Housing: Avoid
- DHFL: Exit/Avoid any fresh buying
- Yes Bank: If you already have the stock you can continue to hold. However, avoid any fresh buying as the bank is still in the process of cleaning up its balance sheet and is looking for fresh investors.
- Hindalco: Buy on dips
Subir K Roy: Nice knowing you from a Rediffmail article. I need your advice on following:
I exited from both IOC Ltd & ONGC Ltd recently as stock price dropped from Rs 160 & Rs 170 to around Rs 132 approx. I had 300 shares and held it for almost 10 months. On exiting from these two shares I have bought NTPC Ltd 250 & GMDC Ltd 150 shares @ Rs 130 & Rs 70.30 respectively. What are the prospects of these two shares and how long should I hold?
Ajit Mishra: NTPC and GMDC both are good dividend yielding stock and have been paying regular dividends. However, capital appreciation prospects might be limited as operating margins have been declining and return ratios are also poor.
Akshat: I am senior citizen 77 yrs; have limited funds to play with. I have a small time zone in mind say approx a year or 18 months. Can I buy IOC/ONGC again when market stabilises? Besides, I have PFC & NTPC in mind. Can you suggest on their prospects on a one year time horizon.
Ajit Mishra:
- IOC: Buy
- ONGC: Avoid
- PFC: May take more time to deliver results, hence avoid
- NTPC: Avoid any fresh buying
Rajesh: Can you suggest few medium sized companies with solid fundamentals which I can try?
Ajit Mishra: You can invest in Dabur, IGL, KEC International, Akzo Nobel, IFB Industries, Whirlpool, Elgi Equipments. In large caps, you can invest in HDFC Bank and Reliance.
Prabhat Shukla: I have SML ISUZU at 800, and IDBI at 40 please suggest as both the stocks are hitting bottom and whatever is the bottom of these stocks in case I want to average out. Thanks in advance.
Ajit Mishra:
SML Isuzu: We would not advise to average. You can rather consider to exit the stock on rise as the near term outlook for the auto industry is not very positive
IDBI: We would advise to exit as the bank has been reporting continuous losses and the asset quality is still deteriorating even after LIC's investment
Mehul: I want to start direct SIP in stocks to take some risk. I have some stock such as ITC, Vguard, Tata Global in mind to start. Could you please suggest is the above picks are good to go? Can you please suggest some other stock to fit in for SIP format?
I am looking for long term period up to 5 years. My monthly SIP amount is starting with Rs 5,000 and eventually increase over time.
Ajit Mishra: You may start SIP in all the three stocks. Besides these, you can consider the following stocks.
- FMCG: Britannia, Dabur or ITC
- Banking: HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank
- Consumer Durables: IFB Industries, Whirlpool, Voltas
- Automobile: Maruti Suzuki, Eicher Motors
- IT Sector: TCS, Infosys
Fahim: Can you please advise whether to hold or sell any of these stocks? I am looking for long term investment and hence appreciate if returns are assured on long term?
- Rain Industries
- Banco
- Control Print
- Engineers India
- Gabriel India
- Avanti Feeds
- Graphite
- NALCO
- Castrol India
- EXIDE
- Rallis
- Triveni Turbine
Ajit Mishra:
- Rain Industries: Exit. Debt/equity ratio is high and operating margins have been declining
- Banco: Exit
- Control Print: Exit. Poor revenue and profit growth
- Engineers India: Exit
- Gabriel Indi: Exit
- Avanti Feeds: Hold for long-term
- Graphite: Exit. The company reported excellent set of numbers in the previous fiscal. However, the same is unlikely going forward because of the lower demand from China and softer graphite electrode prices
- NALCO: The company has been paying regular dividends. You can continue to hold
- Castrol India: Hold for long-term
- EXIDE: Hold. The stock might underperform in the near term but from a long term perspective of 2-3 years the scenario looks promising
- Rallis: Hold. The company's recent result (Q1FY20) was good on all fronts. We have a positive view on the stock
- Triveni Turbine: Exit. Poor revenue and profit growth
Photograph: Reuters.
