Macquarie's Ganapathy Turns Bullish on Paytm, Eyes New Winners in NBFCs & Insurance

• Macquarie upgrades One 97 Communications (Paytm) to positive, citing clear path to profitability and improved operating leverage.
• Suresh Ganapathy emphasizes clean earnings quality for Paytm and PB Fintech, including ESOP costs in EBITDA.
• Macquarie advises shifting from large, fully priced NBFCs to mid-sized and smaller players like Aditya Birla Capital and Shriram Finance for better growth-returns balance.
• Ganapathy expresses caution on Bajaj Finance due to growth slowdown and premium valuation, questioning its ability to maintain high ROA at scale.
• Macquarie is bullish on insurance, particularly the protection segment, raising price targets for SBI Life and HDFC Life, and sees tactical shift to SBI and Axis Bank in banking.

Why It Matters: Macquarie shifts focus to profitability and valuation discipline, upgrading Paytm and favoring mid-sized NBFCs, insurance, and select banks.