Morgan Stanley has initiated coverage on Bharti Infratel Ltd (BIL) with an overweight rating and a price target of Rs 255, citing data traffic growth, steady earnings and attractive valuations as the main reasons. “We believe BIL is well positioned to gain from a rising number of towers and higher tenancy, as operators expand coverage, a rise in loading for the tenants, as voice and, more importantly, data traffic grows,” the investment bank said in a client note. Morgan Stanley was not among the 13 merchant bankers to Bharti Infratel, which raised money through an initial public offering.
“Balance sheet strength and lower regulatory exposure position BIL more favourably than the debt-heavy operators, in our view. And, if India’s data traffic growth accelerates, tower and tenant capacity demand would rise,” it said.
The investment bank said an impending stake sale to meet the regulator’s public shareholding requirement was an overhang on the stock.
“BIL has a free-float of 10 per cent, and Sebi requires it to move to 25 per cent in the next three years. Also, PE firms own 10.6 per cent of BIL and have a lock-in period until December 27, 2013, after which they could sell their stake,” Morgan Stanley said.