Archive · 16 Sep 2026
Nirmal Bang Flags AI Pressure, Sets IT Stock Targets
Nirmal Bang studied several technology companies and gave them ratings and price targets.
It believes artificial intelligence could help companies do software work with fewer people.
That could reduce the number of hours IT companies can bill clients for.
Clients may also ask for lower prices because AI makes work faster.
The brokerage thinks large IT companies could face more pressure because they have more older business to protect.
Smaller companies such as Coforge may be more flexible and may win AI-related work.
Nirmal Bang rated six companies as “sell” and three as “hold.”
It also warned that either very fast or very slow AI adoption could create problems for IT budgets.
Nirmal Bang maintained an underweight view on IT services, citing risks from AI-led productivity gains and pricing pressure.
The brokerage rated TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra and LTM as “sell.”
Its “sell” price targets were Rs 1,724 for TCS, Rs 1,984 for Infosys, Rs 151 for Wipro, Rs 949 for HCL Tech, Rs 1,187 for Tech Mahindra and Rs 3,235 for LTM.
Coforge, Persistent Systems and Mphasis received “hold” ratings, with targets of Rs 1,971, Rs 5,734 and Rs 2,375, respectively.
Nirmal Bang said mid-cap IT companies may face relatively lower AI-related risks, while large-cap firms could experience greater pressure in FY27.
- Who
- Nirmal Bang, an investment brokerage, and the listed IT services companies it assessed.
- What
- The brokerage issued ratings and price targets for nine IT stocks and maintained an underweight view on the IT services sector.
- When
- The assessment discusses risks emerging in 2026 and FY27.
- Where
- The assessment concerns the IT services sector and the listed stocks discussed in the report.
- Why
- Nirmal Bang cited AI-driven productivity gains, possible pricing compression, lower manpower requirements and the shifting of economic value toward AI model and compute providers.
- Sector view
- Underweight on IT services
- Sell-rated stocks
- TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra and LTM
- Hold-rated stocks
- Coforge, Persistent Systems and Mphasis
- Large-cap headcount growth
- Employee headcount rose 0.1% on average, according to Nirmal Bang
- Developer productivity estimate
- Developer throughput could increase 5-8 times
- Potential pricing pressure
- Clients may build about 20% pricing compression into technology budgets
- AI model growth cited
- OpenAI revenue was cited at US$6.7 billion, up 130% year on year; Anthropic revenue at US$11.5 billion, up 1,300% year on year
- FY27 risk assessment
- Large-cap IT companies are expected to face greater pressure than mid-cap firms