Best stock picks for today, 15 May, as recommended by Trade Brains Portal

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd 

• Current price: ₹ 3,547.20
• Target price: ₹ 4,250 in 14-16 months
• Stop-loss: ₹ 3,195.5
• Why it's recommended: TCS reported a 6% YoY growth in revenue from operations from ₹2,40,893 crore in FY24 to ₹2,55,324 crore in FY25 and 3.8% growth in dollar terms, with a slight decline in operating margin of 24.3% from 24.6% YoY. The net margin is also slightly flat at 19.0% YoY, and EPS growth of 5.05% YoY indicates consistent profitability. 

Additionally, free cash flow of $1.48 billion and invested funds of $5.53 billion highlight TCS’s strong liquidity position, enabling sustained shareholder returns. Furthermore, the order book TCV (total contract value) stood at $12.2 billion, with North America TCV reaching an all-time high of $6.8 billion, BFSI TCV at $4.0 billion, and Consumer Business TCV at $1.7 billion, which reflects TCS’s ability to gain market share.

TCS has a strong workforce of 6.07+ lakh employees. The company has 13.3% IT services attrition and 35.2 % women employees, highlighting its focus on talent retention, diversity, and development. A structured hiring strategy and diverse global presence (152 nationalities) ensure scalability and operational efficiency, strengthening its long-term growth prospects. The management also noted that TCS is gearing up to onboard an increased number of campus hires in FY 26.

The management is confident that FY26 will be better than FY25 for its international business and also the domestic business, once the macroeconomic uncertainty softens. While TCS has completed a significant portion of the BSNL deal, which could dampen its revenue, the company is looking out for various opportunities to replace this revenue domestically and internationally and enhance margins, with a target of achieving 26% operating margins. 

Additionally, robust TCVs in Q3 and Q4 further boost confidence in the company’s growth prospects for FY26.

• Risk Factor: If the current macroeconomic uncertainty pertaining to US tariffs prevails or worsens, it can lead to lower operating leverage for the company as utilization will be impacted, and sudden contraction in demand delays or deferrals, which could affect the margins.

Also Read: TCS commentary offers some optimism, but the Street isn’t buying it

Avenue Supermarts Ltd (Dmart)

• Current price: ₹ 4,052
• Target price: ₹ 4,550 in 10 months
• Stop-loss: ₹ 3,803
• Why it's recommended: Dmart’s consolidated revenue from operations saw a growth of 16.87% YoY from ₹50,789 crore in FY24 to ₹59,358 crore in FY25, and their profit for the period stood at ₹2,707.45 crore, with a growth of 6.8% YoY and a PAT margin of 4.6%. 

Additionally, EPS growth of 6.7% YoY indicates consistent profitability. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) in FY25 stood at ₹4,487 crore, as compared to ₹4,104 crore during FY24, and the Ebitda margin stood at 7.6%. 

Their days inventory and days payables were stable at 31.4 and 7.2, respectively, with a lower debt-to-equity ratio at 0.03 for FY25. Dmart’s store count expanded by adding 50 stores this year to reach 415 stores in FY25, from 365 stores in FY24. Its e-commerce venture, Dmart Ready, is currently servicing 25 cities and is growing extremely well in key metro towns, as per the management. DMart’s retail business area of 17.2 million sq. ft. spans across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, NCR, Chhattisgarh, and Daman.

Business remains resilient in metro towns, but non-metro areas are seeing significantly stronger growth. Like-for-like growth is relatively better in metro areas with lower DMart store density. While gross margins in mature metro markets may stay soft for some time, the management remains confident that DMart’s value proposition is well-established in the minds of consumers.

D-Mart follows the Everyday Low Cost–Everyday Low Price strategy, which aims at procuring goods at competitive prices using operational and distribution efficiency. This strategy delivers value for moneyto customers by selling at competitive prices and will help in increasing store footfall, along with strengthening customer loyalty.

• Risk Factor: If the competitive intensity in the FMCG space continues to increase, it might further impact the company’s gross margins. The management also flagged a concern regarding a surge in wages of entry-level positions due to a demand/supply mismatch of skilled workforce that could lead to increased staffing costs if not dealt with properly.

Also Read | Shareholdings moves in Q4: Indian Inc’s founders hike stakes in select small-cap firms

Market Recap 

The Indian market ended positively on Tuesday. The Nifty 50 closed at 24,666, up by 88.55 points, or 0.36%, with an RSI of 61.49, below the overbought zone (RSI 70) and above all four 20/50/100/200 EMAs on the daily chart. 

The BSE Sensex was up 182.34 points, or 0.22%, to 81,330.56. The BSE Sensex is also trading above all four 20/50/100/200 EMAs with an RSI of 61.3 on the daily time frame.

Among the sectoral gainers, Nifty Metal stood at the top, surging by 2.46% and peaking at 9,085, with top gainers like SAIL, Jindal Steel & Power, Tata Steel, and Nalco trading with gains of up to 5.1%. Nifty Realty followed the rally with a gain of 1.7%, reaching a day’s high at 885.35. Stocks like Prestige Estates, Macrotech Developers, Oberoi Realty, and DLF gained up to 4% in Wednesday’s trade.

Additionally, the domestic retail inflation rate for April 2025 stood at 3.16%, easing due to softened prices of vegetables, fruits, pulses, meat, etc. The retail inflation dropped from 3.34% in March 2025 and 4.83% in April last year to 3.16% now. 

In the international markets, the Dow Jones futures ended flat on a positive note at 42,251 levels, gaining 20 points, or 0.04%, on Wednesday. In the US markets, tech companies like Nvidia gained 5.63% on 14 May on news that the company is sending more than 18,000 AI chips to Saudi Arabia. While the Asian markets ended on a mixed note.

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