HDFC Securities retains cautious stance on Nykaa in Q1 earnings review

HDFC Securities reviewed 12 companies after June-quarter earnings, raising target prices for Marico, DLF, Godrej Properties, Century Plyboards and NOCIL while maintaining caution on Nykaa, Kansai Nerolac and Prince Pipes.

— Source publishedWed, 5 Aug, 2026, 09:05 IST·First seen Wed, 5 Aug, 2026, 09:57 IST·Source NDTV Profit

What happened

HDFC Securities updated ratings and targets after June-quarter earnings for 12 companies, including Nykaa, Marico and Emami. It raised targets for DLF, Marico,

Key facts

  • 12 stocks reviewed
  • DLF target price raised to Rs 752 from Rs 709
  • FY28

Why this matters

The split in post-earnings sentiment suggests prioritizing partnerships or investments with companies demonstrating clearer Q1 momentum and valuation support.

What to watch

  • Quarterly GMV and revenue growth split between beauty/personal care and fashion.
  • EBITDA margin, contribution margin and absolute profitability trends.
  • Customer-acquisition costs, marketing spend as a share of sales and repeat-purchase metrics.
  • Fashion segment losses and management guidance on its break-even trajectory.
  • Growth in owned brands, premium beauty mix and offline-store productivity.
  • Competitive discounting or category expansion by Amazon, Flipkart, Tira and other beauty platforms.
  • Any broker estimate revisions, target-price changes or downgrade/upgrade actions after the next results.
  • Management is likely to emphasize contribution-margin expansion, beauty-category resilience, owned-brand penetration and a clearer timeline for fashion profitability in investor communication.
  • Investors may rotate selectively toward companies receiving post-earnings target-price increases, raising the burden on Nykaa to demonstrate earnings delivery in subsequent quarters.
  • Nykaa may prioritize margin-accretive beauty and premium categories, loyalty-led repeat purchases and more disciplined promotional spending over aggressive market-share acquisition.
  • Peer comparisons with omnichannel beauty retailers, e-commerce marketplaces and discretionary-consumption names will become more important for valuation.