Shares of Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) dropped around 5% on Monday, extending losses to 10% over three days after the defence major released its results for the January-March quarter of the financial year 2026, although brokerages remain bullish on the stock.The company on Thursday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 4,196 crore for the March-ended quarter, marking a 6% year-on-year (YoY) rise from the Rs 3,977 crore profit reported in the year-ago period. The defence major’s revenue from operations rose 2% YoY to Rs 13,942 crore in Q4FY26, from Rs 13,700 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.Hindustan Aeronautics shares had closed marginally lower on Thursday after the results. The stock crashed 5% on Friday and another 5% on Monday to hit an intraday low of Rs 4,175 apiece on NSE in the morning trading hours. The shares of the company have fallen by over 12% in one week and by around 5% in one month. The stock has declined by over 18% in one year.Jefferies on HALJefferies retained its ‘Buy’ call on the shares of HAL, increasing its target price to Rs 6,300 apiece. This implies an upside potential of nearly 44% from the stock’s previous closing price of Rs 4,386.20 apiece on NSE.The international brokerage highlighted that the company’s March quarter EBITDA was 10% below its estimates, led by a 9% revenue miss. “However, PAT was 3% above expectations, given better other income. We lower FY27E-28E EPS by 3-8% factoring lower gross margins that were seen in the March quarter. We believe as execution picks up, particularly delivery of Tejas Mk1A aircraft in next 3 months, the stock should move higher,” it said.Nuvama on HALNuvama Institutional Equities also maintained its ‘Buy’ rating on HAL shares, citing inexpensive valuations. It raised the target price to Rs 5,040 apiece for the stock, implying an upside potential of nearly 15% from the stock’s previous closing price.The brokerage highlighted that the firm reported a tepid quarter with execution growing merely 1.8% YoY. That said, Nuvama added that the backlog of Rs 2.54 trillion (~7.7x FY26 sales) continues to provide long-term visibility, but execution ramp-up across key platforms (LCA Tejas, ALH, HTT-40) are critical to drive growth momentum.“Ramp-up in LCA Tejas deliveries in H2FY27, contingent on timely supplies from GE remain key monitorable. Execution across ALH, HTT-40 and Sukhoi programmes, along with conversion of the INR900bn order pipeline, are critical for sustaining growth visibility. Margin sustainability amid improving execution coupled with new order inflows remain key re-rating triggers,” Nuvama further said.Equirus Securities on HALEquirus Securities upgraded its rating on the shares of HAL to ‘Long’ from ‘Short’ following the recent valuation correction, while raising its target price to Rs 5,330 apiece, implying an upside potential of more than 21%. The brokerage highlighted that the firm reported another execution-constrained FY26, with revenue rising a mere 7% as LCA Mk1A deliveries slipped entirely into FY27.“We cut FY27/FY28 EBITDA estimates by 10%/9% to reflect deferred execution ramp-up, though higher other income largely cushions EPS impact,” it added.JM Financial on HALJM Financial, however, downgraded HAL shares to ‘Add’ from ‘Buy’, while reducing the target price to Rs 4,770 apiece. The domestic brokerage said that HAL reported a weak set of results for Q4 FY26.Also read: Delhivery shares tumble 5% after Q4 results. Why Nuvama, Elara & other brokerages remain bullish“We cut our EPS estimates for FY27/28 by ~2% each to account for the delay in deliveries of Tejas Mk1A and lower profitability. We cut our gross margin estimates to account for a weaker gross margin in FY26. This is partially offset by lower provisions. We expect ~15% revenue CAGR driving ~10% EPS CAGR over FY26–28E,” it added.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)