Bandhan Bank shares surged 5% in early trade on Friday after global brokerage firm CLSA upgraded the stock to ‘High-Concept Outperform’, estimating a massive upside potential of 61%.
CLSA sets a price target of Rs 220 for the stock, supported largely by the lender’s outperformance compared to peers in the current MFI (Micro Finance Institution) cycle. The MFI sector has been grappling with persistent challenges and constraints over the last five-six months, resulting in a significant deterioration in asset quality.
Going forward, CLSA believes that the Indian microfinance sector will recover from bad to less bad in a few quarters and from less bad to normal by Q2 FY26. In such a backdrop, CLSA sees Bandhan Bank as playing a role on the MFI recovery cycle, driven by its gradual migration towards secured loans.
CLSA sees early signs of improvement in collection efficiency at Bandhan Bank, indicating the bank to be well-positioned to take advantage of these developments. The brokerage also pointed out that Bandhan Bank’s asset quality is stronger than its peers and with a completely new management team, it does not anticipate the risk of “kitchen-sinking”. Bandhan Bank shares are currently trading 3% higher at Rs 140.55, though the stock is down 81% from its 2018 high of Rs 741.
Bandhan Bank shares upgrade 5% after CLSA rise stock; see latest target price
