Somil Mehta of Sharekhan has maintained its buy rating on Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) stock with a target of Rs 175.

The interested investors can buy the stock with a strict stop loss of Rs 63.

The stock of the company, on Nov 05, closed at Rs 67.65 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

The share price has seen a 52-week high of Rs 92.80 and a low of Rs 51.80 on BSE.

Current EPS stood at -55.66.

On Nov 02, MTNL announced that it bagged Rs 794 crore refund from IT division.

MTNL has recorded a net loss of Rs 604.9 crore for the three month period ended September 30, 2010 on the back of higher wage expenditures and lower operating profits.

State-owned company, in which administration holds 56%stake and provides telecom services in the national capital and Mumbai, registered a net profit worth Rs 21.3 crore for the same period of 2009.

"Staff cost has increased in comparison with the corresponding period last year on account of wage revision implemented and accounted for in Q4 of 2009-10 and thereafter," the company's officials said.

The company has already sought nod from government to cut the total number of its staff by two-third as it tries to arrest a huge fall in revenues and profits.

MTNL's sales dropped to Rs 1,095.2 crore during July-September period as compared with Rs 1,120.8 crore recorded in September 2009.