Bharti shares extend fall as brokerages cut price target

Shares of Bharti Airtel fell as much as 2.4 per cent on Thursday, extending their 6.5 per cent drop in the previous session, as several brokerages cut their price targets on the stock after the leading mobile operator missed estimates and reported an eighth straight drop in quarterly profit.

Citigroup cut its target price on the stock to Rs 425 from Rs 452, although it maintained its ‘buy’ rating. Credit Suisse reduced its price target to Rs 330 from Rs 375 and maintained a ‘neutral’ rating.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut its price target by seven per cent to Rs 400 and maintained a ‘neutral’ rating, while HSBC said it remains ‘overweight’ on the stock but cut its price target to Rs 451 from Rs 475.

Shares in Bharti, nearly a third owned by Southeast Asia’s biggest phone firm, SingTel, ended down 1.1 per cent at Rs 350 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The benchmark Sensex ended 0.70 per cent higher at 17,830.75.