Best stock picks for today, 14 May, as recommended by Trade Brains Portal

Ambuja Cements

• Current price: ₹ 540
• Target price: ₹ 685 in 12 months
• Stop-loss: ₹ 470
• Why it’s recommended: Ambuja Cement is the second-largest cement company, holding a dominant 15% market share. In FY25, Ambuja surpassed 100 MTPA cement capacity, and is aiming for 118 MTPA capacity by FY26 and 140 MTPA by FY28. The company registered its highest-ever annual volume at 65.2 million tonnes, up by 10% YoY. Revenue from operations grew 6% YoY to ₹35,045 crore, and net profit rose 9% to ₹5,158 crore.

Additionally, with a robust capacity addition of 50% over the last 30 months, while increasing revenues simultaneously, the company reduced 19% of costs through acquisitions and OPEX programs. Further, the company targets to reduce the cost from 19% to 12% by FY28.

By leveraging rail, sea, and BCT/GU infrastructure strength & optimizing logistics costs, in FY25, the logistics cost decreased by 5%. Also, the company is focused on digital transformation through GPS, RFID, and real-time tracking. Further, reducing the fossil fuel (coal) rate by 12%. However, currently green power consumption stands at 21% and is targeting to consume 60% of power from green by FY28. Recently, the company commissioned 200 MW of solar and 99 MW of wind power.

For FY25, sales surged 73%, and the premium cement segment saw 29% sales in Q4FY25, among the highest in the industry. The company has a 350 million user base in the infra-platform. Currently, the company has 24 integrated units, 22 grinding units, and 11 captive ships. It holds 110,000+ channel partners across India. As of FY25, the company has 65% of the clinker factor, 82% share of blended cement, 10 bulk cement terminals, and 101 ready-mix concrete plants.

• Risk factors: Ambuja is exposed to raw material costs such as limestone, coal, and gypsum, which collectively account for 33% of the total direct cost. An increase in raw material costs could squeeze the margins and profitability of the company.

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Central Depository Services (India) Ltd (CDSL)

• Current price: ₹ 1,312
• Target price: ₹ 1,645 in 14 months
• Stop-loss: ₹ 1,145

Why it’s recommended: CDSL, a depository services company, holds the majority market share of 79% with over 15 crore active client accounts, whereas NSDL holds more than 3.9 crore active client accounts as of 31 March 2025. 

CDSL has positioned itself as the backbone of retail stock market participation, reinforcing its leadership in the depository ecosystem. In FY25, CDSL opened approximately 3.73 crore new demat accounts.

Consolidated total income grew 32% YoY to ₹1,199 crore compared to ₹907 crore for FY25, while net profit grew by 25% to ₹526 crore from ₹420 crore. Key segment performance highlights of Q4FY25 include annual issuer income up 34% to ₹87 crore YoY, transaction charges down by 36% to ₹49 crore, IPO/CA income down by 4% to ₹25 crore, online data charges income declining to ₹37 crore, and other income growing by 21% to ₹58 crore.

CDSL also won the Market Infrastructure of the Year Award for its innovative contribution to modernizing market access and infrastructure, including initiatives like eKYC, eDIS, eAGM, single sign-on, Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), EASIEST, Electronic Consolidated Account Statement (eCAS), eMargin Pledge, and more. These solutions have enabled shareholders to vote securely, streamline KYC processes, facilitate seamless transactions with the DP, and access electronic grievance redressal.

CDSL operates through four key business lines. CDSL Ventures Limited is India’s first and largest KYC registration agency, with 8.93 crore records and RTA services for 2,638 companies. CDSL Insurance Repository holds over 18 lakh policies across 17.5 lakh e-Insurance Accounts, partnering with 45 insurers. CDSL Commodity Repository enables electronic commodity ownership and transfer via WDRA and IIBH IFSC, strengthening CDSL’s market position and growth potential.

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Risk Factors: The company charges tariffs for DPs as well as issuers and registrar, and transfer agents (RTAs), which is their main operational income and is dependent on capital market activities. Any market volatility could challenge the revenue of the business. Furthermore, CDSL relying heavily on technology could pose cybersecurity risks like phishing, malware, ransomware, among others, which should be addressed properly to safeguard the business interests.

Market recap: 13 May

After a strong single-day rally yesterday, the Indian market cooled down as investors started booking profits. The Nifty 50 opened at 24,864.05 and reached an intraday low of 24,547.5, down by -377.2 points, or 1.5%, and closed at 24,578, fell by -346 points, or 1.4%. The BSE Sensex also fell by -1,387 points, or 1.7%, reaching an intraday low of 81,043, and closed at 81,148, down by -1,282 points, or 1.5%. Whereas, Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 traded in green with gains of up to 1%, signaling heightened volatility. The sectoral indices also showed mixed signals, mirroring the volatility of the broader market.

Among the sectoral gainers, Nifty PSU Bank topped with 2% gains, peaking at 6,605.6, which continued its rally since Monday after PSU banks like Union Bank of India and Canara Bank reported stronger results this quarter. Nifty Media peaked at 1,619, gaining around 29 points, or 1.8%, followed by Zee Entertainment’s rally of around 5% today after an arbitral tribunal ruled in its favour, dismissing Aditya Birla Finance’s claim for a loan dispute, and Nazara Tech, up by 2%, due to the post-acquisition of AFK Gaming Private Limited on 10th May. Nifty Pharma bounced back and was among the sectoral gainers with gains of 486 points, or 2.3%, surging up to 21,589, reacting positively as the executive order of Donald Trump on drug price cuts was not as bad as expected.

Also read | Is L&T under-promising on FY26 guidance?

In the international markets, the Dow Jones index surged (2.81% or 1,161 points) on 12th May 2025, while Dow Jones futures were trading at 42,467, down by (−26.00 points or -0.061%). This is due to a strong rally on Monday, post announcement of a reduction in reciprocal tariffs with the US & China for 90 days. The Asian markets ended on a mixed note, which is due to the strong gains the index logged in the previous session. This is a reversal, and yesterday's US and China tariff reduction deal brings relief for Asian stocks.

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