Exide Industries Reached 52-Week High; Experts See Another 30% Gain; Verify Target Price

Exide Industries Limited’s shares shot up more than 6% to a new 52-week high of Rs 423 a share on April 15, after Morgan Stanley increased the target price from Rs 373 to Rs 485, citing a number of growth levers for the firm.

According to a recent report from global stockbroker Morgan Stanely, Exide Ind’s shares might increase dramatically over the next ten years as the company may emerge as a major force in battery cell localization. With an overweight rating, it has increased its target price for the batter maker’s shares from Rs 373 to Rs 485.

Exide announced earlier this month that it has inked a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) for strategic cooperation in India’s EV (electric vehicle) market with Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motors) and Kia Corporation (Kia). Exide is the wholly-owned, unlisted subsidiary of Exide.

It said that the two companies would collaborate on the research, manufacturing, and delivery of battery cells for Hyundai Motor’s electric cars intended for the Indian market.

Technically speaking, the counter moved higher than the simple moving averages (SMAs) of five, ten, twenty, thirty, fifty, one hundred, one hundred fifty, and two hundred days. The relative strength index (RSI) for the stock after 14 days was 51.03. Oversold is defined as a level below 30, while overbought is defined as a number beyond 70.

Most analysts agreed that Exide might increase in value in the near future.

This year, the battery manufacturer’s stock has stayed in the spotlight and has returned 23% year-to-date compared to the benchmark Sensex’s 2.7% increase during the same time. Investors’ wealth has increased by 111% during the last year, while the Sensex has increased by 24%.

Morgan Stanley thinks that the battery manufacturer may benefit from early mover advantage, robust auto and industrial client tie-ups, tech tie-ups, and government backing for “Made in India” electric cars.

Additionally, it projects a significant increase in the overall addressable market to 150GWh/US $13 billion by 2030 for the lithium battery business in India.

On the other hand, Kotak Institutional Equities is not persuaded and rates the company as a “Sell” due to its high valuation. On April 8, the domestic brokerage changed its target price to Rs 270.

Exide Industries said that it intends to spend between Rs. 4,500 and Rs. 5,000 crore in 6 GW of battery capacity, with Rs. 1,820 crore already spent. This suggests that the lithium company is valued at one times its price-to-book ratio (P/B ratio) forecasts for FY26.