Infosys Q4 earnings: What brokerages and experts say

IT major Infosys surprised the Street with higher than expected net profit for the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 2013, but the company's muted sales outlook for fiscal 2013-14 left led to a sharp selloff in the stock.

The company said dollar revenues are likely to grow between 6 and 10 per cent in fiscal 2013-14 as compared to estimates of 9 to 13 per cent. Infosys' guidance is lower than industry body Nasscom's guidance of 12-14 per cent. The stock plunged 20 per cent.

Here is what brokerages have to say on the stock after Infosys' fourth quarter results:

Kotak: Cautious on Infosys

"Very, very disappointing operating results... expect Infosys to see a sharp correction. Other stocks should correct too. We remain cautious on Infosys. The guidance is extremely disappointing and is bound to disappoint the Street."

Macquarie: Support at Rs. 2,500 levels

"Infosys may find support at Rs. 2,500 levels. The company has missed guidance by wide margins. But, do not extrapolate similar results for TCS and HCL Technologies."

Nomura: Correction expected

"Expect stock to correct due to (the) results. The wide range of guidance does not inspire confidence."

Barclays: Stock collapse likely today

"Expect a collapse in the Infosys stock today... the next zone to think of a trade on Infosys is at sub-Rs 2,150 levels.Expect a flat EPS of Rs165 for FY14; the stock can go to 12-13x PE which gives us Rs 2,000-2,150."

Motilal Oswal: Awaiting further clarity on EPS guidance

"Infosys' numbers are below estimates on all counts; we are awaiting further clarity on if the EPS guidance has been suspended."

IDFC: Buy into weakness at Rs 2,500-Rs 2,700 range

"Expect the stock to trade in Rs 2,500-2,700 range. We recommend buying into weakness in the mentioned range. Most of the incremental growth (in the quarter under review) was driven by Lodestone."

K.K. Mital, CEO for portfolio management services, Globe Capital

"The forecast looks quite conservative, which is a concern. The fiscal 2013 was also not very good for Infosys. This looks like company specific problem. Even mid-cap companies are expected to perform better than this."

"The overall recovery in the US and stabilisation in Europe is expected in the second half of this year and that may help Infosys a little."

Suresh Parmar, associate vice president and head of institutional equities, KJMC Capital Markets

"The outlook is slightly negative compared to the expectations. We expect selling pressure in the short-term as the stock ran up sharply in the past couple of sessions. Investors who took positions are likely to cut exposure and wait for further clarity to take a fresh bet on the stock."

G. Chokkalingam, executive director & chief investment officer, Centrum Wealth Management

"Only the perception has changed, the business remains a bit lumpy for Infosys. The company is growing in single digits in US dollar terms which is not good. The stock should fall at least 5-10 per cent on these results."

Nimish Joshi, equity analyst, CLSA

"The results are very bad -- very, very bad. The guidance is especially bad."

 Partha Iyengar, country manager - research, Gartner India

"Infosys shows continued signs of stress in their overall performance and traction in their new business direction. Continued weak guidance, even in the context of firming economic indicators globally and especially in the key US market, is a significant cause of concern." 

  With inputs from Reuters