Apollo Hospitals: Should you buy, sell or hold after Q3 results?

Synopsis: Apollo Hospitals shares gained 6% after reporting strong Q3 results, with revenue rising 17% YoY and PAT up 36%. Brokerages Morgan Stanley and Citi maintained bullish ratings, citing margin expansion and improving HealthCo performance. Despite trading at a premium valuation, analysts see up to 33% upside from current levels.

The shares of this company, which is Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd, one of India’s largest and most integrated healthcare providers, operating across hospitals, pharmacies, diagnostics, and primary care, and a pioneer of corporate healthcare in India and today a key player in Asia’s private healthcare ecosystem, had its shares in momentum today after the company reported a robust Q3 results with 2 brokerages giving their overweight target on the firm  

With the market cap of Rs 1,08,687 crore, the shares of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd have gained about 6% and reached a high at Rs 7640, compared to their previous day’s closing price of Rs 7220. The shares are trading at a PE of 60, whereas its industry PE is at 45.5.

Q3 Results and Dividend announcement 

The revenue from operation for the company stood at Rs 6,477 crore when compared to Rs 5,527 crore in Q3 FY25, growing by about 17 per cent on a YoY basis and on a QoQ basis increasing by 3 per cent from Rs 6,304 crore in Q2 FY26.

The PAT grew by about 36 per cent on a YoY basis when you compare the Q3 FY26 profit at Rs 516 crore to Rs 379 crore in Q3 FY25 and on a QoQ basis has increased by 5 per cent from Rs 494 crore in Q2 FY26.

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited has announced an interim dividend of Rs. 10/- per equity share (200% of the face value of Rs. 5/-) in FY26. The company is expressing its satisfaction over its financial performance. The record date for the purpose of determining the eligibility of the shareholders for the purpose of receiving the dividend has been fixed as 16th February 2026.

Brokerage Opinions

Morgan Stanley has retained its “Overweight” rating on the scrip with a target price of Rs 8,813, which indicates an upside of around 22% from the current price of Rs 7,220. The broking firm stated consolidated revenue grew by 17% YoY to Rs 64.7 billion, driven by 14% growth in hospitals and 20% growth in the pharmacy segment. EBITDA grew by 27% YoY to Rs 9.6 billion, surpassing the estimate by 2.4%, while margins expanded to 14.9%.

PAT came in at Rs 5 billion, up 35% YoY and 6% over the estimate. This includes one-time exceptional costs towards the labour wage code. Further, cash loss at 24/7 has decreased sequentially, which is a good sign for enhanced efficiency in new segments. Morgan Stanley believes earnings will continue to do well for re-rating.

Citi reaffirmed the rating with a target price of Rs 9,600, implying an upside potential of around 33% over the current share price of Rs 7,220. Q3 consolidated revenue and EBITDA showed a growth of 17% and 27%, respectively, on a YoY basis, driven by robust hospital business growth. In addition, hospital EBITDA margins increased by 60 bps on a YoY basis to 24.5%, despite ongoing capacity additions.

In addition, the broking reported the company evidenced a 12% YoY fall in 24/7 costs, leading to an impressive margin increase of 210 bps at HealthCo. Under circumstances of improved profitability and lower valuation, Citi judges the risk-reward prospects of the company to be positive, especially following Q3 results.

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited has the largest pan-India hospital network, comprising 76 owned and managed hospitals (including day surgery facilities) with over 10,300 beds, out of which 9,561 are operational. This reflects a strong and diversified healthcare footprint in major metros and tier-2 cities, along with an overseas presence.

The company recorded 157,777 inpatients, an occupancy of 67%, and an average revenue per patient increase of 11% to Rs. 180,917 in Q3 FY26. Revenue was up 14%, while EBITDA rose 18%, at margins of 24.8%, indicating steady demand and improvement in operational efficiency across the network.

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