Apollo Hospitals zooms to a fresh high after strong Q2 results; Macquaries sees up to 28% potential downside

Shares of Apollo Hospitals in early trade on Thursday (November 7) zoomed to a fresh record high of Rs 7,469.5 per share after the company's strong Q2 show. At the last count, at around 9:49 am, shares of the Nifty50 company were up over 7 per cent at Rs 7,479 per share on the BSE.

For the September quarter, the company's PAT grew 62.6 per cent year-on-year to Rs 378.8 crore during the review quarter versus estimates of Rs 361 crore. During the same period, the company recorded net profit at Rs 232.9 crore. Revenue from operations came in at Rs 5,589.3 crore in contrast to Rs 4,846.9 crore, up 15.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY). The reveue from operations also came in higher than estimated figure at Rs 5,524 crore.

On the operational front, the EBITDA grew 30 per cent from Rs 627.5 crore in the same period of the previous year to Rs 815.5 crore in the review quarter. Analysts, however, pegged EBITDA at Rs 748 crore.

Also, EBITDA margin gained by 150 basis points YoY to 14.6 per cent, while Zee Business research estimated it at 13.5 per cent.

Here's how brokerages react after Apollo's Q2 show

Macquarie has continued with its 'underperform' rating on the stock and sees a downside of around 28 per cent from the previous close.

In contrast, JP Morgan has maintained its 'overweight' call with a target of Rs 7,200 per share. As per the brokerage, the company posted broadly in-line results; occupancy strength continues. Further, the company recorded healthy revenue growth during the quarter across segments. 

Further the brokerage noted that strong occupancy has been driven by healthy growth in IP/OP volumes. Also, hospital EBITDA margins improved and there has been seen strong uptick in AHLL margins