Mumbai: Domestic brokerage Edelweiss Securities has upgraded shares of ITC to ‘buy’ from ‘hold’ due to the government’s softer stance on excise duty hikes in cigarettes for two consecutive budgets.The upgrade was also because of likely compulsory licensing of non-cigarette tobacco products and impact on unorganised cigarette market under the Goods and Services Tax, said Edelweiss in a note today, adding that ITC is now among its top picks. The brokerage has a target of Rs 337 on the stock.The Budget brought positive news for ITC in the form of lower-than-expected hike in excise duty on cigarettes. The stock was among the top gainers on the benchmark Nifty index. ITC has gained 11.6% in the last one month and has risen 24.6% in the last one year. The company’s flagship cigarette business reported a revenue growth of 2.2% at Rs 8,287.97 crore.

Source: Economic Times February 01, 2017 14:39 UTC