Cigarette Stocks Rally on Price Hikes; UBS Bullish on ITC

Cigarette stocks rose on price hikes to offset higher excise duty, boosting margins. ITC gained ~2% while

Godfrey Phillips surged 12%(at the time of posting this post) . UBS maintained a ‘Buy’ on ITC with Rs 395 target, citing attractive valuations and effective pricing strategy. Despite possible volume pressure, profitability impact is expected to remain limited.