NSE shares trade flat after Q2 results, brokerages maintain bullish stance

On Wednesday, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) shares remained relatively unchanged after the exchange announced a 23% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to ₹2,578 crore in Q2FY27. Brokerages, however, remained optimistic, maintaining bullish stances on the stock despite mixed trends in trading volumes, market share, and revenue. By 12.30 pm, the NSE stock was trading at ₹1808, slightly below its previous close of ₹1,803.80 on the BSE.

JP Morgan highlighted revenue growth as 4% ahead of estimates, with operating EBITDA at ₹30.8 billion, up 10.7% year-on-year. However, the company's EBITDA margins remained stable at 75.7%, despite a decline in quarterly revenue. Core adjusted profit after tax (APAT) stood at ₹25.6 billion, up 10.1% year-on-year but down 16.2% quarter-on-quarter, exceeding JPMorgan's estimates by 3.5%.

Macquarie maintained its "outperform" rating with a target price of ₹1,975, attributing the quarter's results to estimates. The brokerage forecasted volume recovery from the third quarter of FY27 onwards, following SEBI's revision of the Closing Auction Session (CAS) framework. NSE's market share declined 130 basis points quarter-on-quarter in equity cash ADTO and 50 basis points in options premium ADTO.

Kotak Institutional Equities continued to recommend NSE with a buy rating and a target price of ₹2,200, citing NSE's market leadership, revenue diversification, and scalable technology. Jefferies upgraded its rating to "buy" and raised its target price to ₹2,125, highlighting strong cash equities, commodity options, and non-transaction revenues. Emcure Pharma shares experienced a 10% increase in upper circuit, with Q2 net profit rising 29.31% to ₹325.06 crore.