Maruti Suzuki shares top Sensex gainer today, jump over 4%; should you buy?

Maruti Suzuki India share price jumped over 4.5 per cent today to Rs 7,540.25 apiece following strong revenue growth of 10.4 per cent on-year led by improved retail volumes. With today’s gain in the share price, the stock is just 0.34 per cent away from its 52-week high of Rs 7,566. Maruti Suzuki posted total sales of 1.53 lakh units in November 2020, registering a growth of 1.7 per cent over November 2019. The sales of mid-sized sedan Ciaz increased 29.1 per cent to 1,870 units as compared to 1,448 units in the corresponding period of the previous year. Analysts at Narnolia Financial Advisors said that increased preference for personal mobility has led to the improvement in retail sales and the same is expected to continue going ahead.

Around 11.15 AM, Maruti Suzuki shares were trading 4.14 per cent up at Rs 7,501.45 apiece on BSE, as compared to a 0.28 per cent rise in S&P BSE Sensex. The domestic sales in November were down by 1.7 per cent to 1.38 lakh units against 1.41 lakh units in the same period of year ago. “While monthly sales numbers are expected to remain stable going forward, growth rates are expected to remain muted for some time as the low base of last year which was helping growth numbers till September has gone away,” said Jyoti Roy, DVP- Equity Strategist at Angel Broking Ltd.

Should you buy or hold Maruti Suzuki stock?

Narnolia Financial Advisors has given a ‘hold’ rating to the stock, with a price target of Rs 7,627 apiece, implying an upside of nearly 6 per cent from the previous close.

Abhijeet Ramachandran, an Independent Analyst/ Co-Founder and Trainer at Tips2Trade, told The Outlooker Online that with news of the vaccine readiness and gradual unlocking of the economy, the leading four-wheeler manufacturer in India should see strong pent up demand in the coming months as well. “Technically, investors should look to buy on a dip near 7000-7200 for targets of 7900-9200 in the coming months,” he added.

Mitul Shah, Head of Research at Reliance Securities believes that demand for automobiles would remain healthy over medium to long term, though the pace of growth may taper down. “We may see some slowdown over the near term due to the post festival effect, while FY22 would be strong for the sector with healthy double digit growth,” Shah said.