Mumbai: Brokerages have maintained bullish ratings on Bengaluru-based IT major Infosys even as the company’s headline numbers missed estimates for the March quarter and it temporarily suspended its practice of giving guidance citing uncertainty over the impact of Covid-19. Analysts said improvement in new deal wins and strong free cash flow were positive takeaways from the result, which saw the IT major reporting a 3.1% sequential fall in consolidated net profit over the previous quarter at ₹4,321 crore. Jefferies has raised target price to ₹705 from ₹680, saying that Infosys remains its preferred pick among top-tier IT services companies due to its high-quality franchise and reasonable valuation.

Citi has also raised target price to ₹720 from ₹675, while maintaining a ‘buy’.

Similarly, Phillip Capital has maintained a ‘buy’ rating and raised target price to ₹715 from ₹690.

Kotak Institutional Equities has also maintained a ‘buy’ rating with a target price of ₹700. “Even as we expect near-term challenges, Infosys is well-positioned to weather the storm, gain share in recessionary environment and outperform peers on profitability management,” said Kotak Institutional Equities. However, Nomura has cut the target price to ₹710 from ₹805 and maintained a ‘neutral’ rating. CLSA, too, has cut target price on the stock, to ₹800 from ₹970, because of a cut in revenue and margin estimates, while maintaining a ‘buy’ rating. “FY21is expected to be weak due to 1H (April-Sept) Covid-19 impact on revenue and margins.

However, strong deal wins and pipeline indicate likely 2H21 (October-March) growth recovery,” said CLSA.