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Telecom operator Vodafone Idea today found another backer when global broking firm UBS upgraded the stock to buy with a target price of Rs 18, saying that it is expecting relief on government dues as well as a mobile price increase. Following the upgrade, the stock jumped over 5% to Rs 14.82."We believe the market is pricing in a 15-20% mobile price increase in the coming 12-24 months as VIL FPO comes to a close and Airtel and Jio are incentivised to prioritise ROIC over market share gains. That said, we believe relief in the form of AGR reduction by the Supreme Court or equity conversion, moratoriums etc by the Government is highly likely, especially given the Government's stated objective of ensuring three viable private telcos," UBS said.VIL, it said, is the most leveraged to any such relief, yet the stock is trading at a similar c11x FY26e EV/EBITDA as Airtel and Jio. "We believe risk-reward is attractive going into any such announcement and upgrade to Buy. Maintain Neutral on Bharti and Indus," it said.Also read | Nomura upgrades Vodafone Idea, doubles target price. Should you buy?VIL's annual payment to the government will be over $5 billion from FY26 onwards, including US$2bn for AGR and US$3bn for spectrum. "Looking at the details of a curative petition filed by telcos on the AGR case, we believe as much as 50-75% of AGR dues could potentially be cancelled for VIL. Assuming AGR dues are completely waived, our DCF value could increase to Rs 24 per share, vs Rs 12 when there are no waivers," UBS said.Earlier Japanese broking firm Nomura had also upgraded the stock to neutral from a reduce rating with a revised target price of Rs 15 from Rs 6.5."We note the outlook for the industry has improved considerably with all players aligned on the need for ARPU hikes and the industry setting into a 3-private player market. We trim our FY25F EBITDA by 2% and raise FY26F EBITDA by 6%, on factoring in lower subscriber losses," Nomura analyst Hemang Khanna had said.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

FMCG major ITC left investors little to chew on in its March quarter results with the shares falling nearly 1% to Rs 437.85 on BSE during the day but brokerages have raised target prices going up to Rs 540.Global brokerage firm Citi, which has a buy call on ITC, raised its target price to Rs 515 but warned that any change in taxation or other adverse regulatory pronouncements in the Union Budget after elections could impact volumes in the cigarettes business.Morgan Stanley has an overweight rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 506. It said that the revenues were in line but earnings were higher than estimates owing to better margins.CLSA has reduced near-term earnings estimates by 2-3% with a target price of Rs 470.In the March quarter, ITC reported a 1% year-on-year (YoY) fall in its consolidated net profit at Rs 5,120 crore while revenue from operations increased 2% YoY to Rs 19,446 crore.Also Read | Hot Stocks: Brokerage view on BSE, Indigo, ITC; Goldman downgraded Gujarat PipavavStating that the resilient nature of its core business, amid an uncertain industry environment, and its 3-4% dividend yield make ITC a good defensive bet in the ongoing volatile interest rate environment, Motilal Oswal has given a target price of Rs 515.Analysts at Kotak Equities said for ITC's valuations to sustain or re-rate, ITC needs to consistently deliver 2%+/5%+ volume/EBIT CAGR."We trim FY2025-26E EPS by 1% as we moderate FY2025E cigarette EBIT margin in view of leaf tobacco inflation. Paperboards profitability would continue to be under pressure in 1H even as topline growth is likely to improve, led by realisations. We roll over and revise our SoTP-based fair value to Rs 465 from Rs 460," Kotak said.Domestic brokerage JM Financial has among the highest targets of Rs 540 on ITC. "While FMCG business is tracking well, going ahead, acceleration in cigarette volume/EBIT growth along with sharper capital allocation strategy will be key for rerating from current levels," it said.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

Indian markets are likely to consolidate on Friday tracking mixed global cues.The Nifty future closed positive with marginal gains of 1.54% at 23008 levels on Thursday. India VIX was down by 0.42% from 21.47 to 21.38 levels.On the weekly options front, the maximum Call OI is placed at 23500 and then towards 23000 strikes while the maximum Put OI is placed at 22500 and then towards 22700 strikes.Call writing is seen at 23200 and then towards 23000 strikes while Put writing is seen at 22800 and then towards 22700 strikes.“Options data suggests a broader trading range in between 22500 to 23500 zones while an immediate range between 22700 to 23200 levels,” Chandan Taparia, Analyst-Derivatives at Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited, said.Both FIIs and DIIs were net buyers in the cash segment on Thursday to the tune of Rs 4670.95 cr and Rs 146.51 cr respectively. FIIs' Long short ratio for index futures has improved to 42.11% from 30% as on a net basis.Also Read | F&O Ban List: Aditya Birla Capital, PNB, Vodafone Idea among 11 stocks under trade ban on Friday“For the May monthly series, OI PCR is at 1.35, which implies a buy on dips strategy in Nifty,” Sudeep Shah, Deputy Vice President and head of Technical and Derivative Research, SBI Securities, said.“These technical and derivative factors indicate that the index is likely to continue its northward journey and test the level of 23100, followed by 23250 in the next couple of trading sessions,” he said.“While, on the downside, the zone of 22800-22770 is likely to provide the cushion in case of any immediate decline,” highlighted Shah.We have collated a list of stocks from the F&O basket along with cash market from various experts for traders who have a short-term trading horizon:Expert: Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail) at Kotak Securities told ETBureauCanara Bank: Buy| Target Rs 122| Stop Loss Rs 115DLF: Buy| Target Rs 870| Stop Loss Rs 833Divi’s Laboratories: Buy| Target Rs 4230| Stop Loss Rs 4040Voltas: Buy| Target Rs 1390| Stop Loss Rs 1330Expert: Kunal Bothra, Market Expert told ETNowAshok Leyland: Buy| Target Rs 225| Stop Loss Rs 205Axis Bank: Buy| Target Rs 1220| Stop Loss Rs 1130Biocon: Buy| Target Rs 350| Stop Loss Rs 300(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)