Adani Power, Adani Energy and JSW Energy shares traded higher on Thursday after Macquarie initiated coverage on these stocks with a bullish view. Other energy stocks, including Adani Green Energy and Power Grid Corporation also rose as the global brokerage firm raised its target prices on these stocks.
Macquarie initiated coverage on shares with an ‘Outperform’ rating, and Adani Power and Adani Energy Solutions shares with a ‘Neutral’ rating.
The brokerage firm believes that India’s power sector is undergoing a dual-track evolution, with coal continuing to anchor baseload stability while renewables drive incremental capacity growth, supporting an expected expansion in installed capacity from around 538 GW currently to approximately 900GW by FY32E.
However, it noted that this transition hinged on rapid deployment of 74GW of energy storage to address intermittency and meet evening peak demand.
Meanwhile, peak power demand has touched record highs of around 271 GW in May 2026, leaving minimal supply headroom and underscoring grid stress despite adequate base capacity. The CEA anticipates a ~6% power demand CAGR through 2030E.
Capex Super Cycle and Improving Discom Health
Macquarie said that India is shifting toward a transmission-led capex cycle, with $51 billion in investment required by 2035-36 to resolve the geographic mismatch between Renewable Energy-rich states and major demand centres.
It also noted that India’s discoms are on a clear recovery path, with RDSS-led investments and smart metering driving efficiency gains – evidenced by AT&C losses falling to 15% from 22% in FY21 and the sector reporting around ₹2,500 crore profit in FY25 after decades of losses.
“Improved billing, reduced leakages, and LPS-driven decline in overdue payables, to less than ₹50,000 crore from ₹1.4 lakh crore earlier, indicate materially stronger financial health versus historical levels,” Macquarie said.
Additionally, the draft National Electricity Policy 2026 signals a fundamental pivot toward market-based systems, repositioning coal as a flexible balancing resource rather than a rigid baseload.
Legislative reforms like the Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2026 and the digital India Energy Stack aim to improve discom financial health and enable peer-to-peer electricity trading, Macquarie said.
Energy Stock Picks
Macquarie’s preferred picks in the energy sector include , JSW Energy, Power Grid Corporation of India, Adani Green Energy, , and Adani Energy Solutions.
The brokerage maintained its ‘Outperform’ rating on NTPC and raised the target price to ₹480 per share from ₹475 earlier. It also retained an ‘Outperform’ rating on and increased the target price to ₹400 from ₹390.
Further, Macquarie reiterated its ‘Outperform’ rating on and raised the target price to ₹1,700 per share from ₹1,320 earlier.
For JSW Energy, the brokerage assigned an ‘Outperform’ rating with a target price of ₹720 per share. Meanwhile, Macquarie maintained a ‘Neutral’ stance on Adani Power and Adani Energy Solutions, with target prices of ₹230 and ₹1,450 per share, respectively.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.