BofA Merrill upgrades Exide to 'buy'; shares gain

Reuters Market Eye - Exide Industries Ltd shares gain 1 percent after Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgrades the stock to "buy" from "underperform," given expectations of an "an imminent increase in pricing power in automotive batteries."

BofA Merrill also raises Exide's target price to 160 rupees from 122 rupees earlier.

The investment bank says an expected hike in battery prices also supported by capacity constraint at Exide rival Amara Raja Batteries Ltd and the rising costs of lead, among other factors. Exide Industries will raise prices for replacement auto batteries by 5-6 percent due to rising input costs, a company source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Friday.

 

(Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi)