Laptops are wonderful things. They may not be as powerful as their desktop cousins, but they travel well, and come with battery backup onboard in the event of a power failure. More than once, I’ve been grateful for that battery backup so I can save an article to a thumb drive before having to shut down. And those who make laptops—like Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Dell, (NASDAQ:DELL), HP (NYSE:HPQ) and Lenovo Group (OTHEROTC:LNVGY)—should be rejoicing. However, all four are down in Friday afternoon’s trading. The news that should have prompted joy and stock price surges was that the Indian government backtracked on an earlier plan to restrict imports of laptops into the region.
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However, the plans may not be completely, permanently dead. Word from the trade secretary of India, Sunil Barthwal, noted that importers should “be on close watch.” Though what they should be on watch for is unclear, the likely explanation is “in case we try to pull a stunt like this again.” Barthwal did offer some clarification to that effect, noting that the Indian government would be “look(ing) at these imports” and “…basically monitoring…(which) has nothing to do with restrictions as such.”
The Indian market is a plum in the making. Currently, the consumer market in India is around $1.5 trillion. But by 2030, that will quadruple to reach around $6 trillion. Getting a piece of that market, therefore, is a prime opportunity. It’s also no surprise that the Indian government would want to ensure that its own people and firms manage to get at least a slice of that pie before multinational organizations set up shop and sweep the table.
Which is the Best Laptop Stock to Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, AAPL stock, a Moderate Buy by analyst consensus, yields the best results for potential, offering 15.88% upside with an average price target of $207.69. Meanwhile, DELL stock, also a Moderate Buy, offers only 7.89% upside with an average price target of $74 per share.
