Shares of Billionbrains Garage Ventures, the parent company of Groww, gained 2.3% to Rs 221 on the BSE on Thursday after its consolidated net profit of Rs 735 crore in the first quarter of FY27, marking a 94.44% year-on-year (YoY) surge from Rs 378 crore in the same period last year. The net profit is attributable to the shareholders of the company. With today’s gain, the stock is up 9% in two sessions. Groww’s revenue from operations also witnessed a sharp uptick, rising 66% to Rs 1,504 crore from Rs 904 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. On a sequential basis, Groww's revenue remained. Net profit for the quarter grew by 7% to Rs 735 crore from Rs 686 crore last year.EBITDA for the quarter under review came in at Rs 971 crore, up 101% from Rs 483 crore in the year ago period. Sequentially, the increase was relatively modest, up 3% from Rs 939 crore, Groww’s investor presentation showed.Groww shares: Buy, sell or hold after Q1 resultsJM Financial has upgraded Groww to 'Buy' from 'Sell' and raised its target price to Rs 250 (15.5% upside) from Rs 170, citing stronger growth visibility and improving operating leverage. The brokerage said its confidence in the company's growth outlook has strengthened after Groww delivered a resilient performance despite a moderation in retail trading activity from the Q4FY26 peak.Also read: Groww responds to Nithin Kamath tweet: Direct mutual funds remain free for DIY investorsIt also highlighted expanding yields and better operating efficiency, with the cost-to-income ratio declining 3 percentage points quarter-on-quarter to 36%. Reflecting sustained market share gains and disciplined cost control, JM Financial has raised its FY27, FY28 and FY29 EPS estimates by 4%, 6% and 11%, respectively. It now values Groww at a 50% premium to Angel One, up from 20% earlier, supported by stronger earnings growth, higher margins and significantly larger client assets that improve customer stickiness. Motilal Oswal reiterated its Buy rating on Groww with a revised target price of Rs 250, implying an upside potential of 16% from the current market price.Motilal Oswal expects the overall number of orders in the broking business to grow by more than 20% over FY27 and FY28, led by continued market share gains and improving revenue per order. It also believes that the MTF business, Loan Against Securities (LAS) and wealth management will provide an additional boost to the company's revenue growth. Motilal raised its earnings estimates by 1% for FY27 and 3% for FY28, factoring in improved operating efficiency. The revised target price of Rs 250 is based on 38x FY28 estimated earnings per share (EPS).Groww Q1 highlightsThe company said it strengthened its market leadership across key segments during the June quarter by adding 115,000 net clients, supported by higher customer retention and improved product quality despite an industry-wide slowdown.In mutual funds, it retained its position as India's largest distribution platform for direct mutual funds, with Rs. 1.9 lakh crore in direct mutual fund assets under management (AUM). SIP inflows grew 32% year-on-year, outpacing the industry's 16% growth.Read more: Groww says it overtook Angel One in commodities trading within a year of launchIn the stock broking business, the company said risk control measures led to its retail ADTO market share easing sequentially to 15.1%, although it remained 3.3 percentage points higher year-on-year. In commodity derivatives, it expanded its retail market share to 28.6% in notional ADTO across MCX and NSE. On AI, the company said it believes artificial intelligence will fundamentally transform the way it serves customers and sees itself as best-positioned to lead the adoption of AI in investing. It is currently using AI to resolve customer queries with zero wait time, address personalised research requests and accelerate product development. The company added that while it plans to make significant investments in AI, it does not expect these investments to have a material impact on its margins given its scale.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)