ITC Shares Decline 1% Amid Rallying Market, Presenting Potential Buying Opportunity
ITC Share Price Declines Amid Profit Booking
February 23, 2026
The ITC share price declined by almost 1% in intraday trade on Monday, despite positive market sentiment. The stock opened flat at ₹327 against its previous close of ₹327, and dropped 0.80% to an intraday low of ₹324.40 on the NSE.
ITC Share Price Trend
The ITC share price has been experiencing a mild buying trend after hitting a 52-week low of ₹302 on February 2. The stock has been up about 1.5% for February so far, after suffering losses for the last three consecutive months. In January, the stock suffered a massive loss of 20% due to a hike in cigarette taxes. Over the last year, the stock has been down over 18%.
Cigarette Price Hikes
An additional excise duty on cigarettes and other tobacco products, over and above the highest 40% goods and services tax (GST) rate, took effect on February 1. ITC has shown significant resilience following the steep excise duty hikes announced earlier this year.
Long-term Growth Prospects
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Experts largely appear positive about the stock for the long term. Vinit Bolinjkar, the head of research at Ventura, highlighted that ITC has shown significant resilience following the steep excise duty hikes announced earlier this year. Bolinjkar recommends buying the stock for a target price of ₹415 due to attractive valuations, high dividend yield, and successful pass-through of tax hikes.
Neutral View
On the other hand, Nandish Shah, AVP-PCG Research and Advisory, (Fundamental) Wealth Management, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, has a "neutral" view on the stock with a target price of ₹365.
Technical Analysis
Jigar S. Patel, Senior Manager of Equity Technical Research at Anand Rathi Share and Stock Brokers, pointed out that ITC Limited is currently trading within the 50%–61.8% Fibonacci retracement zone of the major rally from the COVID low to the September 2024 top. This retracement area typically acts as a strong demand zone, indicating that the stock may undergo a phase of consolidation before its next directional move.
Investor Takeaway
Investors may consider ITC shares as a potential buying opportunity due to its decline.
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