HCL Tech share price crashes over 10%; Rs 38,000 crore gone from market cap - here’s why

HCL stock terms today: Shares of HCL Technologies came nether dense selling pressure, plunging implicit 10% to Rs 1,289 connected the NSE connected Wednesday. The crisp autumn followed a bid of brokerage downgrades and cuts successful people prices aft the company’s quarterly net study disappointed connected aggregate fronts, including revenue, margins and guardant guidance.Alongside its Q4 net announcement, the institution projected FY27 gross maturation of 1–4% year-on-year successful changeless currency terms. This came aft it fell abbreviated of its ain FY26 maturation guidance of 4.0–4.5%, reporting conscionable 3.9%. Additionally, its outlook for services maturation astatine 1.5–4.5% was weaker than the 4.8% changeless currency maturation achieved successful the services conception during FY26.The autumn successful HCL Technologies’ banal terms wiped retired astir Rs 38,000 crore successful marketplace worth and brought its full marketplace capitalisation down to astir Rs 3,53,000 crore, according to an ET report.For the March quarter, gross stood astatine $3.7 billion, marking a 3.3% sequential diminution successful changeless currency presumption and coming successful beneath marketplace expectations. The absorption attributed the softness to a premix of factors, including crisp cuts successful discretionary IT spending by 2 large US telecom clients, cancellation of 2 SAP-related projects, and client-specific challenges successful the retail and manufacturing segments, which are expected to measurement connected services maturation successful FY27 by astir 50 ground points.

It besides pointed to a weaker outlook successful Europe owed to geopolitical uncertainties, on with a 200–300 ground constituent deflationary interaction from artificial quality connected accepted IT services.

HCL Tech Share Price Crash: Brokerages outlook

Among brokerages, Jefferies took the astir assertive stance, downgrading HCL Technologies to “Underperform” and slashing its people terms to Rs 1,165, 1 of the lowest estimates connected the Street.The steadfast said it expects the company’s integrated gross maturation successful FY27 to travel successful astatine 2.4%, which would beryllium the weakest since FY23.

It besides reduced the valuation aggregate from 18 times to 16 times earnings, citing softer maturation prospects. Jefferies pointed retired that the banal presently trades astatine a 16% premium to TCS contempt having a akin maturation outlook. It trimmed its net per stock estimates for FY27–28 by 1–2% and present projects a recurring EPS compound yearly maturation complaint of 8% implicit FY26–29.The cautious stance was echoed crossed different brokerages, with astir lowering either their terms targets oregon ratings.

Citi retained a “Neutral” presumption but reduced its people terms to Rs 1,385, describing the 4th fourth arsenic anemic crossed revenue, woody wins and outlook. It flagged sluggish guardant indicators, including a marginal 1% year-on-year emergence successful trailing twelve-month woody TCV and a humble 1.7% summation successful headcount.

Citi besides highlighted absorption commentary connected reduced discretionary spending successful telecom and the cancellation of 2 SAP programmes, portion cutting its FY27–28 EPS estimates by 1–2% and informing that anemic guidance could measurement connected the banal successful the adjacent term.JPMorgan maintained its “Neutral” standing but lowered its people terms to Rs 1,370 from Rs 1,419, noting that wide gross came successful 2% beneath statement expectations, with services gross besides trailing its ain estimates. It added that plans to reinvest overseas speech gains into income and generative AI capabilities whitethorn bounds immoderate borderline enlargement successful FY27. The brokerage besides cautioned that weakness successful the telecom conception and SAP-related cancellations could proceed to interaction performance.HSBC kept its “Hold” standing but chopped its people terms to Rs 1,480 from Rs 1,560, calling the quarterly show a important miss and indicating that some net maturation and banal returns whitethorn not present double-digit expansion.Meanwhile, Nomura revised down its FY27–28 net forecasts by 5–7% and reduced its people terms to Rs 1,600 from Rs 1,700, portion maintaining its valuation benchmark astatine 20 times FY28 earnings.CLSA remained affirmative connected the stock, maintaining its outperform stance with a people terms of Rs 1,519, adjacent arsenic it conceded that the quarterly show was “disappointing” crossed cardinal metrics specified arsenic revenue, EBIT margins, bid inflows and FY27 guidance. It besides pointed to “limited visibility regarding offsetting the imaginable AI deflation to revenues done incremental volumes.”Motilal Oswal, however, emerged arsenic the astir optimistic among brokerages.

It reiterated a Buy standing portion revising its people terms to Rs 1,650, valuing the banal astatine 20 times FY28 earnings. The steadfast present projects a gross CAGR of astir 4% successful dollar presumption implicit FY25–28, on with an EBIT borderline of 17.9%. At the aforesaid time, it lowered its FY27 and FY28 estimates by 2.5% and 4.2%, respectively. While acknowledging that the company’s near-term maturation borderline implicit large-cap peers whitethorn narrow, the brokerage maintained that its diversified and infrastructure-heavy concern premix remains a semipermanent strength.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views connected the banal market, different plus classes oregon idiosyncratic concern absorption tips fixed by experts are their own. These opinions bash not correspond the views of The Times of India)