YES Bank shares: Up 85% from 52-week low, here are fresh price targets from 3 brokerages

Produced by: Aseem Thapliyal  Designed by: Manoj Kumar

Stellar rally from 52-week low

Shares of YES Bank have gained over 85% from their 52-week low in six months. The stock fell to a 52-week low of Rs 14.10 on October 23, 2023.

Earnings effect

The banking stock surged 9% intraday to Rs 28.50 on Monday after the lender reported a strong set of numbers in the March quarter (Q4FY24), led by one-off gains from tax refunds.

High volatility

In terms of technicals, YES Bank shares are trading higher than the 5 day, 20 day, 50 day, 100 day and 200 day moving averages. The banking stock has a one-year beta of 1.3, indicating very high volatility during the period

Kotak Equities on YES Bank

Kotak Institutional Equities is bearish on the stock. It has a sell call as risk-reward remains unfavourable. The current YES Bank stock price factors in most of the positive outcomes while the delivery of better return ratios and steady growth that is similar to other frontline banks are still a few years away, the domestic brokerage said. Kotak has an unchanged fair value of Rs 19 on YES Bank, as it values the bank at 1.2 times book and 13 times estimated FY2026 EPS for return on equity that is still below 10 per cent.

JM Financial assigns sell call

JM Financial has downgraded YES Bank shares to 'Sell' while maintaining its price target that suggests a 32 per cent downside over the prevailing market price. The private lender reported promising results in the March quarter but valuations remain a concern, the brokerage said. "We believe current valuations of 1.7 FY26E P/BV are well ahead of the potential positives that could accrue over the medium-term," said JM Financial.

ICICI Securities on YES Bank

ICICI Securities has retained its sell call post Q4 earnings. "We estimate sharp improvement in RoA to 1.0% by FY26E vs FY24 RoA of 0.3%, led by improving NIM trajectory and benign credit costs. Valuations, however, remain unattractive with the stock trading at 1.9/1.8/1.6x FY24/25E/26E ABV. Retain SELL with a revised price target of Rs 20, valuing the stock at 1.2x FY26E ABV," said ICICI Securities.

Stellar Q4 earnings

The private sector lender reported a 123% rise in net profit to Rs 452 crore for the quarter-ended March 31 against Rs 202 crore clocked in the year-ago period. Gross non-performing assets stood at 1.7 percent, down from 2.2 percent in the same quarter last year. Net NPAs for the quarter stood at 0.6 percent, a 0.80 percent improvement on a year-on-year basis.