LTM shares down 28% in 2026: Buy amid pivot towards short-term AI deals? Target prices

HDFC Institutional Equities maintained 'Buy' with a target price of Rs 5,225, based on 20 times estimated September 2028 earnings per share. LTM management expects a stronger H2FY27, with sequential improvement each quarter, while FY28 is seen benefiting from a BFSI recovery, Tech normalisation and new capabilities from Randstad.

"EBIT margin expanded 10bps QoQ to 15.6 per cent, and management reaffirmed its intent to hold margins near FY26 levels despite the upcoming wage hike and integration cost. Order inflow of $1.3 billion reflects a deliberate shift toward shorter-tenure, AI-led deals that convert to revenue faster, and most wins this quarter were AI-centric," HDFC Institutional Equities said.

The LTM stock is down 28 per cent in 2026 so far. It settled 3.66 per cent higher at Rs 4,390 on Friday.

MOFSL said it does not expect growth acceleration in FY27 and maintained its 5.1 per cent YoY CC growth estimate, as the Middle East business weighed on Q2 growth by 60-70 bps. The domestic brokerage said the outlook for FY28 remains positive.

"We believe LTM’s FY26-28 dollar revenue CAGR of 6 per cen remains ahead of most large-cap peers, despite the Middle East impact. We expect growth and margins to improve in FY28 as deal TCV pivots toward short-term AI deals, which convert into revenue faster and offer higher margins," it said.

While Q2 growth was impacted by the Saudi business, BFSI returned to YoY growth and AI traction remained strong, with AI revenue now at 13 per cent of revenue, Nuvama Institutional Equities said.

"The management expects stronger growth in H2 and recovery in Hi-tech from Q3, excluding ME impact. We tweak our FY27E/28E EPS estimates down  by 1.8 per cent/1.3 per cent. Maintain ‘BUY’ with a TP of INR5,200 (earlier INR5,000), valuing the stock at 21x average FY28–29E PE (earlier 20x). LTM is currently trading at 19x FY28 PE.