EXPERTS INDICATE BULLISH ON Lal PathLabs Ltd.

Axis Direct has maintained a bullish stance on Dr Lal PathLabs, Vijaya Diagnostic Centre and Nephrocare Health Services, assigning ‘Buy’ ratings to all three stocks. The brokerage’s target prices indicate potential upside of up to 21%, supported by structural growth opportunities in India’s healthcare and diagnostics sector. For Vijaya Diagnostic Centre, Axis Direct has set a target price of Rs 1,730, indicating an upside of around 20% from the current market price of Rs 1,437. The company operates more than 140 centres across South India, offering pathology testing and advanced radiology services, including MRI, CT and PET-CT scans. The brokerage highlighted the company’s strong customer retention and healthy EBITDA margins of approximately 39%-40% as key strengths. For Nephrocare Health Services, which operates under the NephroPlus brand, Axis Direct has assigned a target price of Rs 750, implying an upside of around 21% from the current market price of Rs 616. The company is India’s and Asia’s largest specialised dialysis service provider, with 490 clinics across 269 cities in India, the Philippines, Uzbekistan and Nepal. Its network comprises 255 captive hospital clinics, 176 public-private partnership (PPP) clinics and 59 standalone centres. The brokerage also highlighted improving cash generation and capital efficiency across the organised healthcare and diagnostics sector. Operating cash flow as a proportion of EBITDA has reached 70%-80% or higher, while return on capital employed continues to improve. Combined with minimal net leverage, these factors are strengthening the financial profiles of healthcare and diagnostic companies and supporting their valuations.