The Nigerian stock market demonstrated significant momentum in February 2026, highlighted by a strong 'Buy' recommendation for MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and substantial trading volumes orchestrated by top stockbrokers. Analysts at CardinalStone have initiated coverage on MTN Nigeria with a 'Buy' rating and a projected target price of N933.33, anticipating an 18.1% upside based on current market trends and anticipated operational performance.

The positive outlook for MTN Nigeria is underpinned by robust data demand, which is supporting revenue growth despite recent price adjustments in telecom services. CardinalStone's report, "MTNN: Structural Data Demand Driven Growth," indicates that total industry data consumption climbed to 1.39 million terabytes in 2025, a substantial increase from 973,455.35 terabytes in 2024. This steady demand, coupled with MTN's strong 2025 financial results, has led to the projection of its share price rising from the current N790 to N933.33 on the Nigerian Exchange. Furthermore, an expected dividend of N60.78 per share for FY2026 is anticipated by the analysts.

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc demonstrated impressive growth in its data business during FY2025. The average data usage per subscriber rose by 20%, while the number of data subscribers increased by 11.6% to 53.2 million, even with higher pricing. This growth is further supported by rising smartphone penetration, which moved from 45.9% in 2020 to 66.1% in 2025, and an increase of approximately 8.7 million mobile internet users between 2024 and 2025, according to data from the Nigerian Communications Commission.

The company's financial performance saw a remarkable turnaround in 2025. MTN Nigeria Communications Plc reported a pre-tax profit of N1.7 trillion, a stark contrast to a N550.3 billion loss in 2024. This return to profitability was aided by positive foreign exchange movements, with the company recording a N90.3 billion gain in 2025 compared to a N925.4 billion loss in 2024, attributed to settling letters of credit and reducing dollar exposure. Following these results, the board proposed a final dividend of N15 per share, bringing the total dividends for 2025 to N20 per unit.

The share price of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has already reflected this positive sentiment, having surged 155% in 2025 and continuing its upward trajectory into 2026, with a gain of over 54% as of market close on 9 March 2026. In a significant strategic move, MTN Group announced a $6.2 billion deal in February 2026 to fully acquire IHS Towers, a major tower provider with over 15,000 sites in Nigeria, which CardinalStone believes will provide MTN Group with full control and help manage tower lease costs.

The overall activity in the Nigerian equities market in February 2026 was substantial, with the top 10 Nigerian stockbrokers facilitating a combined transaction value of N862.04 billion. This figure represents 55.57% of the total N1.55 trillion worth of trades executed by all stockbrokers during the month. These leading firms also dominated trading volume, handling 21.41 billion shares, which accounted for 49.37% of the total market volume. The Nigerian All-Share Index saw a significant gain of 16.60% during February 2026, underscoring the active market environment.

Among these leading brokers, Morgan Capital Securities ranked 10th, facilitating transactions worth N34.1 billion in February 2026. The firm also demonstrated strength in trading volume, executing 2.02 billion shares, equivalent to 4.68% of the total shares traded. This volume surpasses its February 2025 figure of 977.1 million shares, indicating an increase in trading activity.