Shares of the FMCG major Marico in Friday's deal touched an all-time high after a decent quarterly business update. After notching a lifetime high of Rs 745 -rallying as much as 4.39 per cent, the scrip as of the last count at around 10:49 am traded with gains of 1.74 per cent or Rs 12.4 at Rs 726.1 apiece on the BSE. Meanwhile, the headline BSE index was only a tad higher- holding on to 83,260 levels.

In its Q1 business update released after market hours on Thursday, the FMCG company said that during the first quarter of the FY26, the sector exhibited consistent demand patterns, marked by improving trends in rural markets and steady urban sentiment.

The company expects gradual improvement in the quarters ahead, supported by easing inflation, a favourable monsoon season, and policy stimulus.

Furthermore, taking note of the improving volumes, the company clarified that underlying volume growth in the India business continued to improve sequentially to reach a multi-quarter high, driven by positive trends in the core franchises and continuous scale-up of new businesses.

HSBC has continued with its 'buy' call on the stock with the target pegged at Rs 820, implying potential gains of nearly 15 per cent from the previous close.

Meanwhile, another brokerage Morgan Stanely has maintained its equalweight rating on the stock with the target at Rs 674, signifying potential upside of nearly 6 per cent from the last close. The brokerage noted that the topline growth was at 20 per cent, while the value added hair oils (VAHO) segment recorded strong recovery during the first quarter.

Nonetheless, the brokerage pointed out that gross margins will remain under incremental pressure.

On the other hand, Macquarie continued to maintain an 'outperform' with the target at Rs 790.

Sumeet Bagadia- Executive Director at Choice Broking, expecting an upmove in the counter said that in a case the stock closes above Rs 740 today- there will be gain gains in the counter next week. Further, keeping a stop loss at Rs 730, the expert sees targets of Rs 770-780 in the stock.

Kunal Kamble, Sr. Technical Research Analyst at Bonanza said, "Marico is currently in bullish momentum, backed by strong technical signals. A break above ₹745 could trigger fresh buying interest, as the stock continues to show steady participation through consistent volumes."

The price is trading above all major EMAs, reinforcing the prevailing uptrend. The RSI above 68 supports the momentum, while DI+ remaining above DI− indicates strength in the trend. Fresh long positions may be initiated above ₹745 with a stop-loss at ₹680.

The overall trend remains constructive, and dips can be seen as buying opportunities, he added.

On a year-to-date basis, the stock has gained 14 per cent, while on a 1-year basis it gained 20 per cent.