Lenskart Shares to Rally 40%? Nomura Initiates Coverage With Buy, Sets ₹888 Target
Lenskart Solutions has received a fresh bullish call from global brokerage Nomura, which has initiated coverage on the eyewear retailer with a Buy rating and a ₹888 per share target price. Based on the stock’s recent closing level, the target indicates roughly 40% potential upside.
The call comes at a time when Lenskart is showing strong operating momentum, particularly in revenue growth, profitability, international expansion and premiumisation. However, the sharp difference between Nomura’s target and several existing brokerage targets also means investors need to look beyond the headline “40% upside” before taking a decision.
Why Nomura Is Bullish on Lenskart
Nomura’s central argument is that Lenskart has moved beyond being a challenger in India’s eyewear market and has established itself as a market leader, but the brokerage believes the company’s longer-term growth journey is still at an early stage.
That distinction matters.
Lenskart is no longer simply an online eyewear company. Its business combines digital channels, physical stores, eye testing, manufacturing, brands and international operations. The company has also been expanding its presence beyond India through businesses such as Owndays.
The investment thesis therefore depends not only on adding more stores, but also on whether Lenskart can continue increasing revenue per customer, improving margins and scaling its international operations.
Strong Q1 FY27 Numbers Support the Bull Case
Lenskart’s latest financial performance provides a strong foundation for the optimistic outlook.
For Q1 FY27, revenue from operations increased 43.3% year-on-year to ₹2,714.18 crore, compared with ₹1,894.46 crore in the year-ago quarter. Consolidated profit attributable to owners rose about 269% to ₹221.84 crore.
EBITDA increased 61.3% year-on-year to ₹589 crore, while the EBITDA margin expanded to around 21.7%.
The improvement is important because Lenskart’s valuation has historically depended heavily on expectations of future growth. Strong revenue growth is helpful, but improving profitability makes the growth story more convincing.
The company has also been benefiting from increasing international contribution. Its Q1 international revenue grew strongly, while the business continued to work on premium products and higher-value customers.
The Bigger Opportunity: India's Eyewear Market
Nomura’s bullish thesis also fits into a larger structural trend.
Eyewear remains a relatively underpenetrated and fragmented category in India. A large part of the market has historically been served by local optical retailers, creating an opportunity for organised players with stronger technology, supply chains and brands.
Lenskart is attempting to capture that opportunity through an omnichannel model.
For consumers, the journey can start with an online search but move into a physical store for an eye test, fitting or product selection. That combination gives the company more customer touchpoints than a pure-play online retailer.
The company said in its FY26 shareholder communication that it conducted 23.8 million eye tests during the year, up 48.5% year-on-year. It also entered 157 new cities in Tier 2 and smaller markets.
This expansion creates another potential growth engine: each new store can increase accessibility while helping the company build a larger customer database.
Premiumisation Could Improve Profitability
Another factor investors should watch is premiumisation.
Premiumisation means customers increasingly purchasing higher-priced products, which can raise the average revenue generated per transaction.
Lenskart reported that ₹10,000-plus orders accounted for 20.5% of India revenue in FY26, according to its shareholder communication. The company has also been expanding its brand portfolio and international sunglasses business.
If this trend continues, Lenskart could potentially grow profits faster than revenue.
That is one reason why investors should not focus only on store additions. The quality of growth—revenue per store, margins, customer retention and product mix—could ultimately have a bigger impact on earnings.
₹888 Target Looks Attractive, But It Is an Outlier
The biggest point investors should consider is that Nomura’s ₹888 target is significantly higher than several existing brokerage targets.
Recent brokerage coverage has included targets around ₹650–₹750, depending on the firm and valuation methodology. An August 21 ICICI Securities report, for example, carried a Buy rating with a ₹750 target.
A recent comparison of six brokerage views showed targets ranging from ₹650 to ₹888, with Nomura’s target standing well above the others.
That does not mean Nomura is wrong. It does mean investors should treat ₹888 as a brokerage forecast, not a guaranteed price level.
Brokerage targets are based on assumptions about future earnings, margins, growth and valuation multiples. If those assumptions change, the target can change too.
What Could Go Wrong?
Despite the strong growth numbers, Lenskart is not a low-risk stock.
1. Valuation risk
The market is already assigning a premium valuation to a company with high growth expectations. If future earnings growth slows, the stock could face a valuation correction even if the underlying business remains profitable.
2. Execution risk
Lenskart is expanding stores, international operations, manufacturing capabilities and its product portfolio simultaneously. Managing that expansion efficiently will be critical.
3. Competition
India's organised eyewear market is becoming more attractive as the category grows. New competitors and established optical retailers could increase promotional spending or compete aggressively on price.
4. Growth expectations
When a stock is priced for strong growth, merely delivering good results may not always be enough. Investors often expect results to beat expectations.
That creates a higher bar for future quarterly earnings.
Should Investors Buy Lenskart Shares Now?
The Nomura call certainly strengthens the bullish case, but the ₹888 target should not be interpreted as a reason to blindly buy the stock.
The more useful question is whether Lenskart can continue delivering the operating performance required to justify its premium valuation.
Investors considering the stock should monitor several indicators over the next few quarters:
- Revenue growth
- EBITDA and EBITDA margin
- Same-store growth
- New store productivity
- International profitability
- Premium product contribution
- Eye-test growth
- Customer acquisition and retention
- Cash generation
- Valuation relative to earnings growth
The recent ₹1,857-crore block deal involving institutional buyers also showed continued interest from large investors, although Alpha Wave sold its stake in that transaction. Shares changed hands at ₹630 on August 28.
That activity is worth tracking, but institutional participation alone should not be treated as proof that the stock will rise.
Lenskart Share Price Outlook
The near-term direction could remain sensitive to brokerage actions, quarterly earnings expectations and overall market sentiment.
Over a longer period, the fundamental question is straightforward: Can Lenskart turn its leadership in India's eyewear market into sustained earnings growth while successfully scaling internationally?
So far, the numbers provide encouraging evidence. FY26 revenue grew 32.3%, EBITDA rose 55.3% and adjusted PAT increased 147.7%, according to the company's shareholder communication. ROCE excluding IPO proceeds also improved to 23.1% from 13.8% in FY25.
Those are meaningful indicators of improving operating leverage and capital efficiency.
But at the current valuation, execution matters just as much as growth.
Bottom Line
Nomura's Buy rating and ₹888 target for Lenskart have put the stock back in focus, with the brokerage seeing roughly 40% potential upside from the recent closing price.
The bullish thesis is supported by strong revenue growth, sharply higher profitability, premiumisation, store expansion and improving international operations. At the same time, the ₹888 target is considerably more optimistic than several other brokerage estimates, highlighting the valuation and execution risks.
For investors, the key takeaway is not simply the potential 40% upside. It is whether Lenskart can keep growing earnings fast enough to justify the premium valuation. The next few quarterly results will be crucial in answering that question.
Follow the blog for more updates on Indian stocks, brokerages, earnings and market trends.
This article is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice.
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