0227 GMT - Hartalega Holdings' near-term outlook may remain weak, with fiscal 4Q sales volumes expected to decline sequentially as front-loading by U.S. buyers ahead of tariff hikes fades, CIMB Securities analyst Walter Aw Lik Hsin says in a note. Competitive pricing in non-U.S. markets and rising costs add further pressure to earnings, he reckons. The glove maker is prioritizing cost optimization, including workforce reductions and automation to mitigate challenges, he notes. Aw cuts Hartalega's FY 2025-FY 2027 EPS estimates by 37%-62% to factor in higher production costs and lower sales volume. CIMB downgrades Hartalega to hold from buy, cutting the target price to MYR2.70 from MYR4.20. Shares are 3.8% lower at MYR2.51.([email protected])

0123 GMT - While tariffs are the immediate focus of investors in plumbing-fittings supplier Reliance Worldwide, UBS thinks the impact has likely been overestimated. Reliance has around US$120 million of costs exposed to China, so there is some risk, analyst Lee Power says. "But with inventory lags the material financial impact will be FY 2026 at the earliest," UBS says. It notes Reliance's confidence that it's better placed than many rivals. That's because Reliance is the only manufacturer of so-called push to connect fittings in the U.S., says UBS, and this "should largely offset any negative margin implications due to pricing leverage." UBS has a neutral call on Reliance. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

0116 GMT - Wealth manager Challenger may appear cheap to investors, but Morgan Stanley highlights several headwinds that keep it at equal-weight for now. Analyst Andrei Stadnik points to margins and volumes coming under pressure, and predicts a squeeze on Challenger's dividend given a wide gap between its reported and normalized earnings. "So we think Challenger is likely to trade on lower multiples until positive catalysts emerge," MS says. Its price target falls 9.8% to A$5.95/share. Challenger is up 1.4% at A$5.66 today. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

0105 GMT - Woodside Energy has suffered from a perfect storm of external factors that have dragged on investor sentiment, says Morgans, which stays bullish on the stock. Woodside's share price is down around 19% over the past 12 months. Morgans says it now trades on a materially lower multiple than rival Santos, despite having higher-margin earnings, a better-quality portfolio of projects and a stronger balance sheet. Analyst Adrian Prendergast retains an add call on Woodside, believing the market has misjudged the company's new Louisiana LNG project "which has a reasonable probability of seeing equity selldowns and solid execution under Woodside/Bechtel management." ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

0038 GMT - ARB Corp.'s bull at Citi is feeling more confident in the Australian auto-accessory retailer's U.S. strategy. Analyst Sam Teeger acknowledges gross margins are under pressure from the weaker Aussie dollar but points to the emerging profitability of ARB's part-owned 4 Wheel Parts business. Teeger, who hadn't expected breakeven until fiscal 2027, says this shows strong execution and highlights a 25% increase in ARB product sales by 4WP since its acquisition. Citi lifts its target price 4.0% to A$51.20 and keeps a buy rating on the stock, which is down 0.3% at A$39.76. ([email protected])

0019 GMT - Baby Bunting's full-year profit guidance looks easily attainable to the baby goods retailer's bull at Citi. Analyst Sam Teeger tells clients in a note that Baby Bunting should hit the top end of its A$9.5 million-A$12.5 million net profit guidance, or even exceed it. He points out like-for-like sales growth is already toward the top end of the 0%-3% growth assumed in the guidance, and still accelerating. Gross margin is also close to where it needs to be even before the benefit of supplier renegotiations, Teeger adds. He reckons that lower interest rates should also ease some pressure on customers. Citi raises its target price on the stock by 20% to A$2.42 and keeps a buy rating. Shares are down 0.8% at A$1.805. ([email protected])

0004 GMT - Goldman Sachs analysts stay bearish on Seek despite seeing signs of emerging valuation support for the Australian job advertiser. While monetization of an investment at a premium to recent valuations is a clear positive, the company remains exposed to a near-term deceleration in earnings, they tell clients in a note. Citing a strong labor market, they see headwinds from the reposting of unfilled jobs. GS lifts its target price by 12% to A$24.00 but keeps a sell rating on the stock, which is up 5.4% at A$26.00. ([email protected])

2320 GMT - National Australia Bank's recent performance looks a little softer at the edges than that of its major-bank peers, Citi analyst Brendan Sproules says. He points out in a note to clients that almost all NAB's December-quarter revenue growth came from markets and treasury income. Leaving that aside, he observes that revenue was broadly stable and net interest margin was slightly lower. A deterioration in underlying asset quality also looks to Sproules like a potential concern, with mortgage arrears appearing slightly worse than those of peers. Citi keeps a sell rating on the stock, with a last-published target price of A$26.50. Shares are down 7.9% at A$36.375. ([email protected])

2314 GMT - Seek's bulls at Macquarie think that the Australian job advertiser's December-half result sets it up well for its next fiscal year. The classifieds group raised its first-half yield by 11% in Australia and New Zealand, and Macquarie's analysts see further growth ahead. They tell clients in a note that yield growth is tracking in double digits into the June half, which they think is sustainable in fiscal 2026. Australia ad volume declines are narrowing and interest-rate cuts should further improve volumes, they say. Macquarie lifts its target price 7.0% to A$26.75 and keeps an outperform rating on the stock, which is up 3.4% at A$25.50. ([email protected])

(END) Dow Jones Newswires