Varun Beverages shares fell 17% this year and are set for a second straight year of losses. The stock slipped 27% from its 52-week high in four months. Despite this, HSBC and Choice Broking issued buy calls, noting that international expansion and new product categories could support future business growth.
Varun Beverages share price: Shares of Varun Beverages Ltd have slipped 27% from their 52-week high in four months. With the recent correction, the stock looks set to end year 2026 on a negative note. Varun Beverages stock has fallen 17% this year.
Interestingly, the stock is set to end lower on an annual basis for the second consecutive year. Varun Beverages shares closed 23.14% lower in 2025. The FMCG stock, which is in a correction mode for two years, attempted a recovery by hitting a 52 week high of Rs 555.60 on June 17 this year.
However, the stock of the Pepsico bottler fell 6% intra day on July 28 post Q2 earnings. Revenue and profit rose in double digits for the company.
The sentiment in the stock was also impacted by high volatility in the stock market due to the ongoing West Asia war this year.
The shares of the PepsiCo bottler are trading lower than the 5 day, 10 day, 20 day, 30 day, 50 day, 150 day and 200 day simple moving averages.
The stock is in a bear phase amid high volatility and weakness in the broader market.
A total of 0.68 lakh shares of the firm changed hands, amounting to a turnover of Rs 2.77 crore. Market cap of Varun Beverages stood at Rs 1.37 lakh crore.
Meanwhile, HSBC has raised its recommendation on Varun Beverages to buy from hold. It has a price target of Rs 540 on the stock.
On similar lines, Choice Broking has a target of Rs 550 with a buy call on the FMCG stock.
The brokerage listed out growth drivers for the firm.
They include faster international expansion and improving margins, alongside sustained volume growth in India and deeper penetration of visi-coolers, which could support business growth. Premiumisation and diversification into new product categories, including energy drinks, dairy products and snacks, along with adjacencies such as Calpis and Carlsberg and a proposed entry into ready-to-drink (RTD) alcoholic beverages, could further strengthen the company's growth prospects.
However, it listed out key risks to its assumtion such as intensifying competition and unfavourable weather conditions.
According to the brokerage, international margins may take longer than expected to converge with domestic levels, while the expansion of newer categories and adjacencies, including dairy, snacks, Calpis and alcoholic beverages, could progress more slowly than anticipated.
Regulatory uncertainties surrounding product classification, formulation standards and potentially misleading labelling also pose risks to the company's prospects.
About Varun Beverages
Varun Beverages is a beverage company. It operates franchisee of PepsiCo. The company produces and distributes a range of carbonated soft drinks (CSDs), as well as a large selection of non-carbonated beverages (NCBs), including packaged drinking water sold under trademarks owned by PepsiCo.