New Delhi, Aug 11 (IANS): Among the Nifty constituents, Maruti Suzuki and Bajaj Auto are the most widely covered stocks on the Street with 54 analysts covering the stocks while Grasim Industries and Bajaj Finserv are the least covered stocks with 10 analysts covering these stocks, as per a report by Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

ICICI Bank is covered by 51 analysts on the Street and it enjoys 98 per cent Buy ratings, followed by L&T (98 per cent), ITC (97 per cent), SBI (96 per cent) and HDFC (96 per cent).

Conversely, JSW Steel (24 per cent), Wipro (33 per cent), Shree Cement (38 per cent), TCS (47 per cent), and Asian Paints (48 per cent) have the lowest percentage of Buy ratings, the report said.

Analyst sentiment, which is measured by the proportion of Buy/Hold/Sell ratings, has improved over the past year with the percentage of Buy ratings increasing to 75 from 74 a year ago. Further, the percentages of Hold have remained stable.

While Sell ratings declined to 9 per cent from 10 per cent, a year ago. Sentiments on Autos, Cement, and Healthcare have been positive with their coverage improving 8 per cent, 6 per cent and 5 per cent YoY, respectively. NBFCs (due to a drop in coverage of HDFC), Insurance, and Retail have taken a hit, with their coverage slumping 16 per cent, 8 per cent and 6 per cent YoY, respectively.

Some of the most popular non-Nifty stocks with the maximum coverage are: TVS Motors (covered by 48 analysts; 60 per cent Buy), Ashok Leyland (47 analysts; 83 per cent Buy), ACC (46 analysts; 52 per cent Buy), Ambuja Cements (46 analysts; 39 per cent Buy), and Havells (46 analysts; 54 per cent Buy).

Based on the consensus target prices for the Nifty-50 companies, there is a potential upside of 13 per cent (2,192 points) for Nifty-50 to 19,717.

Stocks with the highest target upsides are UPL (+36 per cent), ONGC (+32 per cent), HDFC Life Insurance (+28 per cent), Axis Bank (+25 per cent), and Bharti Airtel (+25 per cent). Stocks with the most target downsides are JSW Steel (-18 per cent), Asian Paints (-4 per cent), Eicher Motors (-3 per cent), Coal India (-2 per cent), and Wipro (-1 per cent). The top-10 stocks will likely contribute 72 per cent to the Nifty's target upside, the report said.