Shares of ICICI Bank slipped in Monday’s trade amid a volatile session post announcing the December quarter (Q3) results. The stock fell 0.62 per cent to hit a day low of Rs 865.05 over its previous close of Rs 870.40. Support on the counter could be seen at Rs 850, followed by Rs 858, analysts said.
The country’s second-largest private sector lender recorded a 34.2 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase in standalone profit at Rs 8,312 crore for the quarter that ended December 31, 2022 on healthy growth in NII (Net interest income) and operating profit, with improvement in asset quality. NII surged 34.6 per cent to Rs 16,465 crore.
Technical analysts largely suggested that ICICI Bank gained some traction after Q3 results. One analyst said that the counter struggled to close above Rs 883 level, while another felt that a breach above Rs 900-mark could act as a fresh trigger for the stock to surge in the near term.
AK Prabhakar, Head of Capital, IDBI Capital, said, “We have a ‘Buy’ call on ICICI Bank due to good results recorded in the December quarter. Investors can look for a target price of Rs 1,260 on the counter.”
Osho Krishan, Senior Analyst- Technical & Derivative Research at Angel One, said, “ICICI Bank is consolidating in a slender range from the past couple of trading weeks. However, post the declaration of Q3 earnings, the stock has started gaining some traction and is expected to surge northwards in the comparable period. On the technical front, the stock is witnessing a reversal signal from the oversold territory that adds up to the bullish quotient. As far as levels are concerned, the recent consolidation near the Rs 850-odd level is expected to act as strong support. While on the higher end, an authoritative breach above the Rs 900-910-odd zone could trigger a fresh round of longs in the counter in the near future.”
AR Ramachandran from Tips2trades said, “Despite strong Q3 FY23 results which exceeded Street estimates, ICICI Bank is struggling to close above Rs 883. A daily close above the said level should lead to targets of Rs 903-911 in the coming days. Support will be at Rs 858.”
Choice Equity Broking has assigned an ‘Outperform’ rating to ICICI Bank with a target price of Rs 1,075.
Around 3.88 lakh shares changed hands today on BSE, which was lower than ICICI Bank’s two-week average volume of 4.94 lakh shares. Turnover on the counter stood at Rs 34.03 crore, commanding a market capitalisation (m-cap) of Rs 6,05,949.82 crore.
There were 4,03,341 sell orders on BSE, against buy orders of 1,57,802 shares. The counter’s 14-day relative strength index (RSI) came at 42.80. A level below 30 is defined as oversold while a value above 70 is considered overbought. The company’s stock has a price-to-equity (P/E) ratio of 20.38.
The stock was last seen trading higher than 5-day and 200-day moving averages but lower than 20-day, 50- and 100-day moving averages. ICICI Bank has an average target price of Rs 1,047.69, Trendlyne data showed, suggesting a potential upside of 20.02 per cent. The stock has a one-year beta of 1.01, indicating average volatility.
Meanwhile, Indian equity benchmarks rose sharply in afternoon deals, led by gains in banks, financials and automobile stocks.
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