Ambuja Cements shares gain 4% as UBS raises price target 

Shares of Ambuja Cements Ltd gained nearly 4% in the afternoon session on Tuesday after global brokerage UBS upgraded the stock to 'buy' and raised its target price to Rs 620 from Rs 475. According to the brokerage, cement sector is witnessing strong consolidation with the existing market leaders having an advantage. Moreover, a housing upcycle and government capex revival are likely to drive demand for cement.

UBS said a series of factors will lead to lowering of costs in the cement sector, including a transition to renewable energy, greater use of waste heat recovery systems, reduced freight costs due to increased rail transport, and improved logistics driven by mergers.

Buoyed by the brokerage's projection, Ambuja Cements shares rose 3.76% to Rs 538.50 against the previous close of Rs 518.95 on BSE. Market cap of the firm rose to Rs 1.29 lakh crore.

UBS also announced price targets for stocks of cement players such as UltraTech Cement. The leading cement player has been upgraded to 'buy' , with its target price raised to Rs 13,000 per share from Rs 9,000.

Shares of Dalmia Bharat were upgraded with target price of Rs 2,100 per share, while the brokerage retained its buy call for ACC with a target price of Rs 2,250.

Meanwhile, Ambuja Cements stock gained 3.76% today to Rs 1,786.95 against the previous close of Rs 1743.70 on BSE. Market cap of the firm stood at Rs 33,011 crore.

Ambuja Cements shares have a one-year beta of 1.7, indicating high volatility during the period.

In terms of technicals, the relative strength index (RSI) of Ambuja Cements stands at 63, signaling it's trading neither in the overbought nor in the oversold zone. Ambuja Cements shares are trading lower than the 100 day, 150 day, 200 day but higher than the 5 day, 10 day, 20 day, 30 day and 50 day moving averages.

Ambuja Cements reported a 242% rise in standalone net profit for the quarter ended December 2024. Profit climbed to Rs 1,758 crore in the last quarter against Rs 514 crore in the December 2023 quarter. On a consolidated basis, the Adani Group company's net profit rose 140.14% to Rs 2,620 crore in Q3 against Rs 1,091 crore in the December 2023 quarter.

On a sequential basis, consolidated profit climbed 454% from Rs 473 crore in the September 2024 quarter. Consolidated revenue from operations rose 4.5% to Rs 8,415 crore in Q3 from Rs 8,052 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.