0429 GMT - Collins Foods' bulls at UBS stay positive on the Australian fast-food franchiser despite the continuing headwinds facing its Netherland operation. The investment bank's analysts acknowledge that weak Dutch consumer confidence remains a challenge, but think that conditions are holding up in Australia and Germany, where Collins also operates. They point out that the start of fiscal 2026 will benefit from comparison with soft year-earlier sales, and see Australian food input costs including chicken becoming more manageable. Interest-rate reductions should also be of benefit, they add. UBS trims its target price 6.1% to A$9.20 and keeps a buy rating on the stock, which is down 2.5% at A$7.52. ([email protected])

0140 GMT - Cettire's bear at RBC warns that the Australian luxury goods retailer may need to raise equity over the coming months as sales continue to disappoint. Analyst Wei-Weng Chen assesses Cettire's latest trading update and estimates that the company's working capital balance may have declined by between A$21 million and A$22 million over the past two months. The speed of the decline raises the prospect of a potential equity raise, Chen writes in a note. He thinks that the size of the earnings miss indicated by the trading update means that Cettire was probably compelled to make an announcement under its continuous disclosure obligations. RBC has a last-published underperform rating and A$0.50 target price on the stock, which is down 30% at A$0.3275. ([email protected])

0130 GMT - Zip's bull at Citi thinks that the installment-payment provider could be benefiting from tough U.S. macro conditions rather than suffering from them. Analyst Siraj Ahmed points out that Zip's core consumer base typically doesn't have access to other forms of credit, which could mean they lean more on buy-now-pay-later products when times are tough. This could help explain the 40% on-year rise in May transaction value on Zip's U.S. platform. Ahmed says he isn't surprised by Zip's latest earnings guidance upgrade, but sees potential for Zip to tighten risk settings if U.S. economic conditions deteriorate. Citi raises its target price by 3.3% to A$3.10 and keeps a buy rating on the stock, which is down 0.4% at A$2.68.([email protected])

0125 GMT - The nature of NextDC's first Malaysia-based customer and the timing of the deal might be of even greater strategic importance than the size of the contract, according to Wilsons analysts. The fact that a large hyperscale customer has committed to the Australian company's Kuala Lumpur data center ahead of its practical completion is a real positive, they tell clients in a note. NextDC's forward order book is looking very robust to the Wilsons analysts. They indicate that they are watching for any sign that the company could firm its potential interest in a site in Malaysia's south. Wilsons raises its target price 2.9% and keeps an overweight recommendation on the stock. Shares are down 1.0% at A$13.79. ([email protected])

0104 GMT - REA Group's bull at Citi thinks new listings growth is heading toward the bottom end of the Australian property advertiser's annual guidance range. Analyst Siraj Ahmed tells clients in a note that May's 10% on-year drop probably leaves listings growth for the first 11 months of the current fiscal year up by 1%. This is at the lower end of the News Corp-controlled advertiser's 1%-2% guidance, and below Ahmed's 1.5% forecast. Citi has a buy rating and A$275.00 target price on the stock, which is down 0.7% at A$239.28. News Corp is the parent company of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires.([email protected])

0102 GMT - Qantas will likely enjoy the capital-expenditure benefits of repatriating 13 Asia-based aircraft in its 2027 and 2028 fiscal years, UBS analysts reckon. They write in a note that the Australian carrier's closure of its underperforming Singapore-based JV is in keeping with its agile network management and focus on improving returns from invested capital. The closure does not materially change their view of the stock. They think that stable demand and easing fuel prices should support fiscal 2026 margin expansion. UBS raises its target price 11% to A$10.30 and keeps a neutral recommendation on the stock, which is up 4.5% at A$10.97. ([email protected])

0054 GMT - Qantas's bull at Morgan Stanley is surprised that the Australian carrier hasn't flagged a boost from lower fuel costs. Analyst Andrew G. Scott tells clients in a note that he would have expected some kind of benefit from favorable moves in underlying oil prices. He thinks that Qantas's decision to close its underperforming Asia JV is prudent given structural headwinds and the ability to better use capital elsewhere. However, that is somewhat offset in his view by the scale of Jetstar Asia's losses and a cut to group-wide capacity guidance. MS raises its target price 4.3% to A$12.00 and keeps an overweight recommendation on the stock, which is up 4.6% at A$10.98. ([email protected])

0032 GMT - Seek gets a new bull at Citi, where analyst Siraj Ahmed sees the Australian job advertiser leveraging artificial intelligence to the benefit of both candidates and hirers. Ahmed initiates coverage of the stock with a buy rating, telling clients in a note that Seek looks to be ahead of other local classifieds operators in terms of using AI to enhance customer experience. It is this product-led growth that Ahmed thinks will underpin medium-term yield growth, with his volume forecast sitting slightly lower than consensus expectations. Citi places a A$28.50 target price on the stock, which is down 0.25% at A$23.94. ([email protected])

2349 GMT - Charlatans and snake oil salesmen beware. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has issued warning notices to 18 so-called social media finfluencers suspected of unlawfully promoting high-risk financial products and providing unlicensed financial advice to Australians. The move is part of a global week of action against unlawful finfluencers by nine international market regulators in countries including the UK, UAE, Italy and Canada. Actions so far included arrests, warning notices, and website takedowns. ([email protected]; @JamesGlynnWSJ)

2324 GMT - IVE Group's investor day next week could come with an earnings upgrade, says Bell Potter. IVE expects its FY 2025 underlying net profit to total A$47 million-A$50 million. Analyst Chris Savage thinks an earnings upgrade will happen because IVE didn't change its guidance in February when reporting its 1H result. Bell Potter also notes FY 2025 is nearly finished. "The key reason why we believe the company will upgrade is the current guidance implies a much lower underlying net profit result in 2H relative to 1H," the bank says. IVE reported a 1H underlying net profit of A$29.3 million, so it only needs to beat A$20.7 million in 2H to clear the top end of its guidance. Bell Potter has a "buy" call on IVE. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2246 GMT -- Metcash's merger of its Independent Hardware Group and Total Tools businesses wasn't the outcome that Jarden wanted. It felt that Metcash could have spun off hardware to close a valuation gap. "The decision to merge the businesses delays, in our view, any likely action here, with Metcash focused on the cycle turning to demonstrate the earnings power of hardware," analyst Ben Gilbert says. Jarden retains an overweight call on the stock and trims its price target by 2.4% to A$4.00/share. Metcash ended Wednesday at A$3.64. ([email protected])

2235 GMT - Euroz Hartleys sees a silver lining to Austin Engineering's earnings miss. Austin signaled its FY 2025 Ebit would be A$41 million. That is down from earlier guidance of A$50 million. Austin attributed the miss to setbacks at its facility in Chile. Some orders for there will now be completed at its Batam plant in Indonesia. Analyst Trent Barnett says this could be viewed as positive because it shows that customers don't have many alternatives to Austin. "Also, if Austin performs well, there is plenty more work the customer could order from Batam given it also has global customer base," Euroz Hartleys says. The bank lowers its price target by 18%, to A$0.70/share. Austin ended Wednesday at A$0.32. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2227 GMT - Johns Lyng didn't specify what Pacific Equity Partners is offering to acquire the company, prompting Jefferies to assess what a bid could be worth. It estimates an offer could be between A$3.79/share and A$4.17/share, depending on what valuation method is used. Johns Lyng ended Wednesday at A$2.99. Analyst Tom Chapman had viewed Johns Lyng as undervalued before PEP's interest became known. "It is extremely unusual for announcements like this to not disclose an indicative purchase price, so we wonder what the ASX's view of this is given the market is now trading without being fully informed," Jefferies said. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires