Asian Paints Shares Rise 5% After Brokerages Hike Target Price

Asian Paints Ltd. on Thursday rose 4.6% after it delivered a strong September-quarter performance, with broad-based growth and sharp margin gains, prompting most brokerages to raise price targets.

The company's consolidated net profit surged 43% to Rs 994 crore in the July-September quarter, compared to Rs 695 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The bottomline beat the Bloomberg consensus estimate of Rs 887 crore.

Revenue increased 6% to Rs 8,531 crore versus Rs 8,028 crore last year, also beating analyst estimates.

Citi maintained a 'sell' rating, hiking its target price to Rs 2,250 from Rs 2,150, noting that growth and margin improvement in the second half will largely stem from a low base rather than easing competition.

Jefferies, on the other hand, remained bullish with a 'buy' rating and raised its target price to Rs 3,300 from Rs 2,900, calling Asian Paints "the king is back." It attributed the revival to brand investments, innovation, and regional activations, alongside "smart margin expansion." Jefferies expects premium valuations to sustain given the company’s strong franchise and long-term customer relationships.

Investec, while acknowledging the "sharp beat across metrics," also maintained a 'sell' with a higher target price of Rs 2,285 (from Rs 2,050), citing rich valuations and limited margin upside beyond FY26 levels.

The scrip rose as much as 4.6% to Rs 2,897.10 apiece on Thursday, the highest since Nov. 7. It pared gains to trade 3.22% higher at Rs 2,859 apiece, as of 9:53 a.m. This compares to a 0.01% decline in the NSE Nifty 50 Index.

It has risen 15.53% in the last 12 months and 24.99% year-to-date. Total traded volume so far in the day stood at 0.99 times its 30-day average. The relative strength index was at 79.03 indicating it was overbought.

Out of 38 analysts tracking the company, 13 maintain a 'buy' rating, seven recommend a 'hold,' and 18 suggest 'sell,' according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target of Rs 2,695.63 implies a downside of 5.4%.