Stocks to buy for long term: Elevated crude oil prices driven by Middle East conflict, heavy foreign capital outflow, rupee’s weakness against the US dollar, and lack of AI trade have kept the Indian stock market in the negative territory this year so far- equity benchmark Nifty 50 is down nearly 10% year-to-date (YTD).
The outlook for the market is hazy as there is still uncertainty over when the US-Iran conflict will settle, and the Strait of Hormuz will be fully open. Concerns are also rising about the second and third-order impact of higher crude oil prices.
The prevailing situation requires prudence in stock selection. Ravi Singh, Chief Research Officer at Master Capital Services, recommends the following 10 stocks to buy for the long term.
Stock picks for the long term
DLF | Previous close: ₹566.75 | 12-month target price: ₹800 | Upside potential: 41%
Singh highlighted that DLF is completely owning the luxury housing market right now.
Their “Privana” series essentially sold out overnight. Looking at their latest numbers, they have drastically cut down their net debt while continuing to push pre-sales higher.
“They have got a heavy pipeline lined up for Gurugram and Goa, showing they are successfully pivoting from just building houses to becoming a high-margin cash machine. Plus, their rental business, DCCDL, is quietly pulling in steady, double-digit growth,” said Singh.
Coforge | Previous close: ₹1,282.10 | 12-month target price: ₹1,565 | Upside potential: 22%
Singh pointed out that in a mid-cap IT sector that feels risky right now, Coforge remains a massive outlier. Their execution has been excellent, sitting on a massive executable order book. Management remains highly confident in sustained organic growth.
“While others sweat global macro issues, Coforge has been locking in huge deal wins in banking, financial services, and travel. They’ve been smart about integrating AI and making strategic acquisitions, which keeps their margins much more stable than their peers,” said Singh.
Bharat Electronics (BEL) | Previous close: ₹423.65 | 12-month target price: ₹515 | Upside potential: 22%
Defence is booming, and BEL is catching the lion’s share of the indigenisation push.
They are sitting on an all-time high order book that virtually guarantees their revenue for the next few years.
“What stands out is their shift toward higher-margin non-defence electronics and a healthy bump in export orders. With the government practically mandating Make in India for the armed forces, BEL is the go-to supplier for critical radar and communication systems,” said Singh.
SRF | Previous close: ₹2,689.50 | 12-month target price: ₹3,245 | Upside potential: 21%
Singh said while the chemical sector has had a rough patch, SRF is pulling off a textbook “V-shaped” recovery in its fluorochemicals division.
Global demand is coming back for refrigerant gases, and their packaging film business is providing steady, reliable growth.
“They are dumping massive capex into speciality chemicals right now, which should start heavily padding the bottom line in the coming years,” said Singh.
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise | Previous close: ₹8,082.50 | 12-month target price: ₹9,600 | Upside potential: 19%
Apollo Hospitals is hitting its stride. Singh pointed out that their digital platform, Apollo 24/7, is moving closer to profitability, which removes a huge drag on their bottom line.
The latest data shows they are making significantly more revenue per bed, keeping their main hospitals at high capacity.
“They are aggressively pushing into tier-2 cities and scaling up their diagnostics wing, giving them a massive structural runway. With high-end surgeries picking up, expect their margins to widen significantly this year,” said Singh.
NTPC | Previous close: ₹395.25 | 12-month target price: ₹466 | Upside potential: 18%
NTPC is rapidly turning into India’s green energy powerhouse. Their legacy thermal plants are still printing stable, regulated cash, but the upcoming push of their renewable energy arm is going to unlock massive value.
“The latest data shows better plant load factors and falling coal under-recoveries. They are aiming for an aggressive 60GW of renewable capacity by 2032, making this a highly predictable play on India’s energy transition,” said Singh.
Aurobindo Pharma | Previous close: ₹1,511.80 | 12-month target price: ₹1,755 | Upside potential: 16%
Singh highlighted that Aurobindo Pharma isn’t just a generic drug maker anymore; they are successfully pivoting into complex speciality pharma.
Their latest numbers look solid, largely because their US injectable business bounced back hard.
The real kicker is the recent approval of high-value biosimilars and the operationalisation of their massive Pen-G plant under the PLI scheme, which will aggressively slash raw material costs.
“Between a clean regulatory track record and a deep product pipeline, the fundamentals here are rock solid,” said Singh.
Coal India | Previous close: ₹462.20 | 12-month target price: ₹535 | Upside potential: 16%
Singh pointed out that Coal India just quietly keeps breaking its own production records, edging closer to that massive 1-billion-tonne annual target.
“Everyone wants to talk about renewables, but the reality of India’s peak power demand means coal is going to run the economy for at least another decade,” said Singh.
“Earnings remain strong, driven by heavy volume and efficient cost control. It trades at highly attractive valuations and pays a dividend yield that crushes standard fixed deposits,” Singh said.
Hindustan Zinc | Previous close: ₹637.80 | 12-month target price: ₹740 | Upside potential: 16%
Singh said Hindustan Zinc is riding the wave of surging global silver prices while maintaining its status as one of the cheapest zinc producers on the planet.
The latest earnings highlight their untouchable EBITDA margins and prove they are still committed to handing out heavy dividends.
They are scaling up silver production, which is a major catalyst.
“For a long-term hold, you get commodity pricing upside paired with a massive, defensive dividend yield,” said Singh.
Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) | Previous close: ₹3,391 | 12-month target price: ₹3,625 | Upside potential: 7%
MCX finally ripped the band-aid off its tech transition, and now we are seeing the operating leverage kick in.
Options trading on the platform has exploded and taken over as its main growth engine. Their profitability is spiking simply because they aren’t bleeding cash on legacy software costs anymore.
“With more retail and institutional money flowing into commodity options, MCX is essentially operating as a monopoly. We are looking at a multi-year re-rating here,” said Singh.
Read all market-related news here
Read more stories by Nishant Kumar
Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. The views and recommendations expressed are those of the expert, not Mint. We advise investors to consult with certified experts before making any investment decisions, as market conditions can change rapidly and circumstances may vary.
