These midcap stocks with ‘strong buy’ & ‘buy’ recos can rally over 20%, according to analysts

Unlike last quarter of 2023, when nifty and sensex used to witness correction and mid-cap index was able move higher. Since the start of 2024, the mid-cap index is also participating in the correction, clearly indicating that some profit booking is taking place in this segment of the market. Having said that, if one looks at the flow of money to the mutual funds, a good amount of it is still coming in funds which are focussed on mid or small cap. There is no way one can fight with liquidity, if it is going to mid caps and they are moving up irrespective of valuations or quality of stocks one cannot argue. But the only thing which as an investor one can do is to be careful when taking exposure to this segment of the market. Stay away from stocks where there is a narrative that this sector will do well because of ABCD reasons or the company will get such and such orders worth this much. There is enough evidence in history to show that more than anything else, checks and balances are most important at this point of time, while making investment decisions.

Sometimes a rationale which goes against owning a set of stocks at the start of a bull run, comes in handy in the case of a correction in stock markets. There is one sector where business updates from companies talk in the common lingo. First one is: growth will be muted. Second, margins will be under pressure due to cost inflation and third, competition is increasing in different categories. The sector is FMCG where the narrative is that it is a bad time to buy FMCG stocks. Probably, it is time to take a contrarian call in this sector.

After a long period of time, bears are seeming confident. How long they will be able to roam on the street is the question for which answers are being sought. For that it would be better to focus on why the correction is taking place. Whether there is just a profit booking after a long phase of out performance or there are any headwinds which the economy is either facing or is likely to face. The answer is very clear that this phase of profit booking and there are no headwinds, in fact there are more tailwinds of clear policy making. This is not to say that this corrective phase will not continue further, if there is any increase in oil prices, there might be some short term pressure, but the long term story stays intact. ET screener powered by Refinitiv’s Stock Report Plus lists down quality stocks with high upside potential over the next 12 months, having an average recommendation rating of “buy” or strong buy . The screener applies different algorithms for all BSE and NSE stocks.

In 2008, the IPO of a power company got subscribed in less than a minute of its opening and the size of that issue was Rs 11,563 crore. This just shows the desire to own power sector stocks at that point of time. From those days of frenzy to the nadir in 2014, when power companies were on the top of the list of NPA of the banks. Power companies have seen both the extreme of valuations. It is a sector where after many failures and to some extent a consolidation, some companies have emerged which know how to deal with all kinds of economic and industry cycles. That is probably the reason why a number of companies from the power sector have seen a sharp re-rating in the last one year. Hoping the survivors have learnt their lessons.

In the last two months of the market, while the midcaps have done well, though the pace at which the outperformance was taking place has slowed down. So, there is a profit booking taking place in different parts and sectors. Part of this profit booking is due to the fact the valuations are high and probability that it would continue. At this point of time one should also focus on reducing risk.In reducing market risks, investors should integrate both quantitative and qualitative criteria to assess stocks, aligning expectations with realistic market performances and avoiding impulsive shifts based on short-term fluctuations. This involves a disciplined approach to examining fundamentals, particularly focusing on crucial financial ratios such as Return on Equity (ROE) and Return on Capital Employed (ROCE). These measures help in evaluating a company's efficiency and profitability, guiding investors away from making hasty decisions which are mostly done in a bullish market.

While the recent performance of stocks like REC, PFC and recently listed IRDEA has brought focus back to one segment of power companies. But the fact is that in the last few years, the sector has been going through a consolidation. Some of it was forced by the banks due to many companies going under the IBC and some due to the fact that any industry which has gone through a troubled phase of almost a decade, the players who are able to survive tend to get more attention because they have learnt the art of surviving a tough phase which is one most important feature for long term survival. Power sector stocks are now catching up with what the market has witnessed in the last few years.

Capital good companies had faced tough times for many years. Given the fact that hardly any capacity buildup was taking place in any industry, a number had to change their product portfolio and had to live with very low margins. But all the efforts have now started to show some results. Given the performance of the stock, a large majority of these stocks have hold recommendations from the analysts.

Cement has been a sector where most of the analysts have been caught off guards. The stocks have done well and a large number of analysts have been sticking to their stands that pricing and capacity utilization is an issue. What they probably ignored was the fact that any industry which has been facing headwinds for a long time tends to sort the issues and few players are able to make a comeback as consolidation takes place. Pretty much what we have seen in power.

After facing rising input costs and supply chain disruption, the Macro environment in which auto ancillaries companies operate have turned favourable after a long period of time. Sometimes it is LCV and HCV which drives the demand, at other point time, better four and two wheeler numbers are pushing the demand up for auto ancillary companies, some of which are changing their business model to stay relevant in times of EV. We take a look at companies where analysts are projecting further upside in the next 12 months. The list is based on upside estimated by the analysts, with the highest potential stock coming on the top of the list.