China says Nvidia broke competition rules, extends probe; stock off lows
Investing.com - Jefferies upgraded Asian Paints (NSE:ASPN) (APNT:IN) stock rating to Buy from Underperform on Tuesday, while significantly raising its price target to INR2,830.00 from INR2,000.00.
The upgrade comes after a challenging four-to-five-year period for the paint manufacturer, during which the company’s stock delivered negative returns of approximately 15% since January 2021, compared to an 82% gain for the Nifty 50 index.
Jefferies identified several factors behind Asian Paints’ recent struggles, including raw material price volatility, increased competitive pressure from Birla Opus, subdued demand conditions, and internal leadership challenges.
The research firm now believes Asian Paints is positioned to benefit from normalizing gross margins, a more gradual growth trajectory for competitor Birla Opus in fiscal year 2026, and expected improvements in demand conditions supported by government consumption measures and favorable monsoon forecasts.
While Jefferies acknowledges some challenges will persist for the next few quarters, the firm suggests "the worst may be behind" for Asian Paints, which currently trades at a one-year forward price-to-earnings ratio of 50 times on what the firm describes as depressed earnings.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.