Exide Industries shares up 19% in a month; should you buy, sell or hold?

Shares of Exide Industries Ltd were trading 0.63 per cent higher at Rs 353.90 in Thursday’s session. With this, the stock has gained 19.10 per cent over the past one month.

A few brokerages remained divided on the battery maker after its March 2026 quarter (Q4 FY26) earnings performance.

Nomura said Exide Industries reported Q4 FY26 revenue of Rs 4,550 crore, up 9.4 per cent year-on-year (YoY), which was around 3 per cent above its estimates. EBITDA margin came in at 11.7 per cent against Nomura’s estimate of 11.9 per cent, resulting in an in-line operational performance.

The brokerage noted that raw material-to-sales ratio rose 150 basis points (bps) quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to 69.9 per cent, partially offset by lower other expenses.

Adjusted profit after tax (PAT) stood at around Rs 310 crore, rising 22.7 per cent YoY.

“In Q4, Auto OEM recorded 25 per cent-plus YoY growth, and the 2W/4W replacement business also continued to grow in double digits on a YoY basis. Telecom declined 50 per cent YoY, and exports declined by double digits. Overall, 92 per cent of Exide’s business grew 16 per cent YoY,” Nomura stated.

The brokerage further said total investment in lithium-ion business touched Rs 4,800 crore till FY26. Customer sample deliveries from the cylindrical cell line for two-wheelers are expected from Q1 FY27E, while the prismatic line catering to three-wheelers and stationary applications is likely to start shortly thereafter, as per management guidance.

Nomura maintained its ‘Buy’ rating on the stock and raised the target price to Rs 419 from Rs 398 earlier.

On the other hand, Nuvama Institutional Equities downgraded Exide Industries to ‘Reduce’ from ‘Hold’.

“About 92 per cent of the revenue grew 16 per cent led by auto OEM/aftermarket, industrial infra and inverters, while the remaining 8 per cent declined by high double digits led by telecom and exports. EBITDA grew 14 per cent to Rs 530 crore, broadly inline. Led by cost pressures, we trim our FY27E/28E EBITDA by 4 per cent/1 per cent,” Nuvama said.

The brokerage assigned a target price of Rs 300 on the stock.