There’s a growing coalition of tech stocks out there taking up arms—of the rhetorical and economic varieties, of course—against a recent move from the Indian government to restrict the flow of certain technologies into the country. Major names from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) to Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) to HP (NASDAQ:HPC) are all on board and out to tackle India’s newest move. It’s actually done all three some good today, as each is up fractionally in Friday afternoon’s trading.
Eight separate U.S. trade groups have come together to petition the U.S. government to ask India to alter its stance on tech imports. That stance features a new licensing requirement for imports of laptops, tablets, servers, data center parts, personal computers, and more. That’s set to start November 1st, so the coalition of the technological is out to get the new requirements revoked before they can cause some serious headaches in the midst of what should have been a major market. The new requirements are actually in effect right now, but there’s a three-month grace period that’s been included so that those who aren’t following the new requirements can get up to speed.
The Indian government, according to reports from TechCrunch, has been working to develop its own internal manufacturing of smart devices and computing equipment. So, not surprisingly, one of the first things it would do is make it harder for imports to succeed. Back in May, the Modi government set up a $2 billion program designed to encourage local businesses to put together all those things that are now largely restricted from entry. That’s better than double the original program designed to do the same, which was backed up by $892 million. It’s a great move for Indian commerce, of course, but it doesn’t exactly help the big established names from getting in on the Indian personal computing and data center operations market.
Fighting back against the new Indian plans has helped all involved, but some more so than others. While HPQ stock had the highest gains today, it’s also the least favored by analysts. HPQ is considered a Hold by analyst consensus, and its $29.56 average price target gives it 4.92% downside risk. Meanwhile, Apple is a Moderate Buy and comes with a 19.41% upside potential thanks to its $208.13 average price target.
