Top Gainers & Losers: What analysts suggest you do with Bajaj Finance and ITC shares now

AK Prabhakar, Head of Research at IDBI Capital Markets, told Zeebiz.com that the stock, in his view, "still lacks valuation comfort". He prefers to stay away from the stock. 

ITC 

Among the prominent blue-chip gainers was ITC, which finished with a premium of Rs 6.6 or two per cent from its previous close. ITC was among the few heavyweights that saved the benchmark indices from deeper cuts. 

Many analysts have positive views on the stock. Prabhakar of IDBI Capital is of the view that no change in taxes on cigarettes in the upcoming Budget would "make ITC the best stock to buy even today (at current market price)". The stock has remained an underperformer for the past two months and usually stages big moves only around this time of the year, he said. 

Godrej Consumer Products

The FMCG major's stock closed with a gain of Rs 28.8 or 3.2 per cent at Rs 917.4 apiece after touching the Rs 920 level during the session.

In a business update for the October-December period, the Godrej Consumer management said the country's FMCG sector saw slow growth on account of poor rural consumption and a post-festive season slowdown but it expects to deliver double digit sales growth on the back of low single-digit volume growth.

"There has also been a sequential improvement from high single-digit sales growth and mid-single-digit volume decline in the previous quarter. The growth is broad-based and led by around double-digit sales growth in both home care and personal care," Godrej Consumer Products said. 

CLSA maintained an 'accumulate' call on Godrej Consumer Products with a target price of Rs 950. 

Hindustan Unilever

The HUL stock finished higher by Rs 49.7 or two per cent at Rs 2,585.8 apiece on NSE.

CLSA maintained 'accumulate' on HUL but brought down its target price for the stock by 1.7 per cent to Rs 2,900.

"One needs to see green shoots in the rural economy to be bullish on something like HUL," Prabhakar said.