ICICI Bank share price hits fresh record high: Should you buy, sell or hold the banking stock after Q4 result?

ICICI Bank share price rose more than 2 per cent to hit a fresh all-time high of ₹1,437 in opening trade on Monday, April 21, buoyed by the banking major's March quarter (Q4) result. ICICI Bank share price opened at its fresh all-time high of ₹1,437 against its previous close of ₹1,406.65. Around 9:45 AM, the banking stock traded 0.79 per cent higher at ₹1,417.75.

ICICI Bank share price has been on a roll of late, rising 5 per cent in April so far after a 12 per cent gain in the last month.

ICICI Bank Q4 result

ICICI Bank on Saturday, April 19, said its Q4FY25 standalone net profit rose 18 per cent year-on-year to ₹12,629.58 crore against ₹10,707.53 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

The bank's net interest income (NII) rose 11 per cent year-on-year to ₹21,193 crore in Q4FY25 from ₹19,093 crore in Q4FY24.

Net interest margin stood at 4.41 per cent in Q4FY25 against 4.25 per cent in Q3FY25 and 4.40 per cent in Q4FY24. For FY25, the net interest margin stood at 4.32 per cent.

ICICI Bank stock: Should you buy, sell or hold after Q4 result?

Several brokerage firms expressed their positive view on ICICI Bank after the lender's Q4 earnings and suggested buying the stock for the long term.

Brokerage firm Motilal Oswal Financial Services reiterated a 'buy' call on ICICI Bank with a revised target price of ₹1,650, implying a 17 per cent upside potential.

Motilal highlighted that the pace of NIM (net interest margin) expansion surprised positively, while asset quality improved.

"Seldom does a bank of the size of ICICI Bank surprise with its operating performance the way this bank has done, that too amid a volatile macro environment, elevated competition for deposits, and ongoing normalisation in asset quality," said Motilal.

"We upgrade our earnings estimates by 2.5 per cent and 4.2 per cent for FY26 and FY27, respectively, on the back of positive NIM surprise and controlled credit costs. We thus estimate RoA and RoE of 2.3 per cent and 17.5 per cent, respectively, in FY27. ICICI Bank remains our preferred buy in the sector with a revised target price of ₹1,650 (2.7x FY27E ABV)," said Motilal Oswal.

Motilal Oswal pointed out that the bank’s continuous investment in technology has enabled consistent productivity gains, helping the bank maintain cost ratios.

Motilal underscored that the business mix has tilted toward the high-yielding portfolio, with the bank maintaining a balanced growth across the segments.

"Secured asset quality remained stable (excluding agri) with no signs of stress, improving the GNPA ratio. The contingency provisioning buffer of ₹13100 crore (1 per cent of loans) provides further comfort in case of any future cyclical stress," said Motilal.

Brokerage firm Nuvama Wealth Management also maintained a buy call and revised the target price to ₹1,630 from ₹1,470 earlier.

"ICICI Bank continues to deliver strong and above-expected earnings growth even in a volatile macro environment. Based on its strong delivery, we reckon the stock’s premium to peers shall expand. We reiterate it as our top pick," said Nuvama.

Brokerage firm JM Financial also maintained a buy call and raised the target price to ₹1,650, compared to the previous close of ₹1,500.

JM Financial has built in margins compression over the near term and expects average NIMs of 4.14 per cent over FY26-27E to result in NII, PPoP and PAT CAGR of 13 per cent, 13 per cent and 11 per cent, respectively, over FY25-27E.

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Disclaimer: This story is for educational purposes only. The views and recommendations above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, not Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions, as market conditions can change rapidly, and circumstances may vary.