Jefferies has upgraded Bharti Hexacom to a “Buy” rating and increased its target price to ₹1,600 per share, reflecting a 24.2% potential upside from the stock’s closing price of ₹1,288 on September 12. The upgrade comes amid expectations of continued strong performance in the telecom sector.
The brokerage highlights that Jio’s intensifying focus on growth and VIL’s ongoing market share decline could necessitate multiple tariff hikes over the next few years. Jefferies has revised its revenue and EBITDA estimates for FY26 and FY27 upwards by 5-12%, factoring in a 10% tariff hike in mid-FY26 in addition to the previously anticipated 10% hike in 2QFY27.
The brokerage believes that Bharti Hexacom is projected to achieve a higher 25% CAGR in EBITDA and 66% CAGR in FCFE over FY24-27 compared to Bharti Airtel, which should help sustain its premium valuation.
