Mumbai — June 25, 2026
For long-term investors, real estate developer Anant Raj Limited (NSE: ANANTRAJ) has been nothing short of a multi-bagger masterpiece, recording a staggering 800% growth over the past five years. However, the stock has recently hit a cooling period, trading largely flat on a year-on-year (YoY) basis.
As the stock caught its breath, global brokerage firm Nomura issued a fresh analysis. While adjusting near-term targets due to execution timelines, Nomura reiterated a strong structural thesis, framing Anant Raj as a premium structural play on India’s booming data center infrastructure and high-end residential markets.
The Big Picture: Nomura Maintains ‘Buy’ with a Revised Target
Nomura adjusted its target price for Anant Raj to ₹650 (down from ₹700), representing a 24% upside potential from its recent trading levels.
The slight downward revision comes on the back of operational bottlenecks. Specifically, a slower-than-expected cloud capacity ramp-up alongside structural delays in launching key residential projects prompted the adjustment. On the bourses, the stock reacted mildly, hovering around ₹521 during intraday trading.
Data Centers: A Massive Secular Runway Despite Near-Term Friction
The core of Anant Raj’s long-term valuation re-rating rests on its digital infrastructure pivot. However, setting up massive cloud infrastructure is meticulous work.
According to management, the testing, validation, and official handover of cloud infrastructure to hyper-scale clients typically takes 4 to 6 months before rental cash flows begin accruing. Because of these long lead times, Nomura trimmed its FY27 and FY28 earnings estimates, dialing back projected annual cloud capacity additions from 4 MW to 3 MW.
The cloud business is now expected to account for 10-11% of the overall business mix in the medium term, falling short of management’s ambitious long-term target of 25%. Consequently, EBITDA is projected to grow at a healthy CAGR of 30-35% between FY26 and FY29, a deceleration from the explosive 50% CAGR recorded between FY23 and FY26.
The Silver Lining: Compounding Rental Yields
Despite execution friction, the financial trajectory of the data center segment remains highly lucrative:
- Quarterly Momentum: Data center rental income surged to ₹0.74 billion in 4QFY26, a massive jump compared to ₹0.17 billion in 4QFY25 and ₹0.44 billion in 3QFY26.
- Annual Projections: Annualizing this fourth-quarter run-rate sets up base data center rental income to reach ₹2.96 billion in FY27, up significantly from ₹1.76 billion in FY26.
- Capacity Additions: An additional 1.5 MW of cloud capacity is slated to monetarily kick in by 2QFY27 (shifting from the initial end-FY26 estimate).
- The Math: Given that 1 MW of cloud capacity pulls in roughly ₹1.5 billion in annual rentals, newly operational assets are expected to inject an incremental ₹1.7 billion over a nine-month window. This pushes total expected FY27 data center rentals to a robust ₹5.8 to ₹6.0 billion.
Real Estate: Unlocking Premium Gurugram Landbanks
While data centers provide predictable, high-margin annuity income, Anant Raj’s traditional real estate engine continues to fuel its cash flow needs.
The brokerage highlights major progress on the company’s luxury housing front in Gurugram. The highly anticipated Group Housing-2 (GH2) project is on track for a official launch in 2QFY27, following the receipt of critical administrative approvals. Concurrently, paperwork and approvals for its subsequent residential chapter, GH3, are moving forward.
Nomura estimates that the residential segment alone is positioned to spin off approximately ₹25 billion in free cash flow (FCF) from its ongoing and upcoming portfolio. This liquidity provides the company with a massive shield, allowing it to fund its capital-intensive data center expansions without over-leveraging the balance sheet.
Key Takeaway for Investors
Anant Raj is transitioning from a pure-play cyclical developer into a structural tech-infra hybrid. While the current stock price consolidation reflects near-term testing and regulatory delays, the fundamental combination of ₹25 billion in residential free cash flow and an impending ₹6 billion data center rental run-rate outlines an incredibly strong foundation for its next leg of growth.