0144 GMT - Zip's bull at Citi is encouraged by the latest update from one of the Australian buy-now-pay-later operator's U.S. rivals. Analyst Siraj Ahmed tells clients in a note that U.S.-listed Sezzle said it has seen no deterioration in consumer credit quality and that it is leaning into customer growth. Growth in the value of transactions on Sezzle's platform accelerated in the June quarter, he adds. Ahmed thinks that this looks good for Zip, which generates the majority of its revenue from the U.S. Citi has a last-published buy rating and A$3.10 target price on Zip shares, which are down 3.3% at A$3.26. ([email protected])

0112 GMT - The unexpected exit of Iress's deputy chief executive is likely to raise questions for the financial-tech provider, E&P analyst Olivier Coulon says. The Australian company says that Harry Mitchell will leave because his position has been judged superfluous to needs, but Coulon points out in a note that the investment community had appeared to rate him. In terms of performance, Coulon says that Iress's top-line performance for the six months through June was solid on a continuing-operations basis. However, increased product-development investment led to a miss at the Ebitda level relative to Coulon's forecast. E&P has a last-published positive recommendation and A$10.21 target price on the stock, which is down 8.0% at A$8.65. ([email protected])

0102 GMT - Iress's bulls at Wilsons remain attracted to the Australian financial-tech provider despite what they say was a poor cash-flow performance in the June half. The Wilsons analysts blame softer operating cash-flow and higher-than-expected capital expenditure for the miss, but say that the FY 1H performance was broadly otherwise in-line with their forecasts. They tell clients in a note that the Australian company's unchanged annual guidance effectively represents an upgrade on a continuing-operations basis. They are still positive on the likely EPS impacts from new product launches and cost efficiencies. Wilsons has an overweight rating on the stock, which is down 7.0% at A$8.74. ([email protected])

0055 GMT - CAR Group's bull at Citi thinks that its guidance is likely to be well received by investors despite falling slightly short of expectations. Analyst Siraj Ahmed tells clients in a note that the Australian vehicle advertiser's Ebitda and net profit guidance are both about 1% short of consensus. However, the key concern ahead of the announcement was the performance of CAR's U.S. operation. The Trader Interactive business's FY 2025 revenue was about 1% ahead of expectations, and CAR is guiding for double-digit fiscal 2026 growth despite an uncertain U.S. macro-economic backdrop. That should please investors, Ahmed says. Citi has a last-published buy rating and A$42.85 target price on the stock, which is up 1.0% at A$37.36. ([email protected])

0027 GMT - Electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi probably did enough in FY 2025 for the market to upgrade earnings forecasts modestly, Jefferies says. JB Hi-Fi's annual net profit of A$476.1 million--excluding an expense to settle some legal proceedings--was up 9% on FY 2025 and around 1% ahead of Jefferies' expectations. Underlying profit also beat. Analyst Michael Simotas is happy with JB Hi-Fi's trading snapshot in FY 2026 so far. "Generally sales momentum has been maintained into July, with JB Hi-Fi Australia and New Zealand both running ahead of consensus 1H run rate, while The Good Guys is slightly below," Jefferies says. JB Hi-Fi is down 2% at A$115.30.([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

0018 GMT - Jarden raises Nick Scali to overweight, from neutral, and says it would have considered an additional upgrade to buy if the furniture retailer's U.K. rampup wasn't so slow. Nick Scali's UK sales in FY 2025 were around 50% below consensus hopes. The sales outcome reflected the impact of refurbishing stores and staffing gaps at some outlets. Still, analyst Ed Woodgate highlights green shoots for Nick Scali in the U.K. Gross profit margins in the U.K. reached 52% in 2H, and the company expects this to rise to 60% from FY 2027. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

0012 GMT - Electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi's CEO change comes some 6-12 months earlier than Jarden had expected. JB Hi-Fi said CEO Terry Smart will stand down on Oct. 3 to be replaced by current Chief Operating Officer Nick Wells. "We would not expect new CEO to be taken negatively, with business in great shape both operationally and positioned for the cycle," analyst Ben Gilbert says. JB Hi-Fi's annual result impressed, with a 1% beat to consensus expectations for underlying profit. July sales were strong with inventory up, suggesting optimism about FY 2026, Jarden says. It has a neutral call on JB Hi-Fi. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2334 GMT - DigiCo's bull at E&P sees the announcement of government certification for its central Sydney data center as positive. Analyst Annabel Khun points out that failure to secure certification to lease to government agencies would have triggered a review event in DigiCo's Australian debt facility. That risk has been eliminated, she writes in a note to clients. A majority of key customers wouldn't look at leasing the SYD1 center without the certification, Khun adds. DigiCo can now begin to work on contracts with new customers, she says. E&P has a positive recommendation and A$4.66 target price on the stock, which is at A$3.20 ahead of the open. ([email protected])

2329 GMT - There are very high expectations of an interest rate reduction from the Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday. Bank bill traders are pricing a possibility of a cut greater than 0.25 basis points, says Michael McCarthy, market strategist at Moomoo Australia. But what many analysts seem to overlook is that just because the RBA can cut, doesn't mean it will cut, he adds. While core inflation at 2.7% gives the RBA room to move, an unemployment rate of 4.3% means it's is not under any pressure to do so. Still, a refusal to cut on Tuesday could have a significant impact on the share market, he adds. ([email protected]; X @JamesGlynnWSJ)

2315 GMT - Monadelphous shares seem expensive following a more-than 40% jump year to date, Bell Potter's Joseph House says in a note. The broker cuts its recommendation to sell, from hold. Its target rises to A$16.50, from A$16.20. Recent strength in the stock, which trades at 23.8x FY 2026 earnings, "has largely been driven by multiple expansion and is approaching prior peak-cycle valuation levels," says House. Monadelphous enjoys a 55% premium to its industrial-services peers, despite being forecast to report the lowest FY 2026 earnings growth of that group. Current multiples suggest significant contract wins in the near term, with little room for misses, House says. Monadelphous ended Friday at A$19.72. ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

2158 GMT - The 8.8% share-price drop that followed QBE Insurance's 1H result looks overdone to Jefferies. Analyst Simon Fitzgerald says QBE's efforts to reduce volatility and enhance consistency has delivered positive results. Catastrophe claims were within budget despite a historically bad half for the industry. Still, the reduction in renewal rates in 2Q was rapid, Jefferies says. Average renewal rates eased to 0.8% in 2Q, from 3.4% in 1Q. "Despite some moderation in property (34% of gross written premium) and some Lloyd's syndicates, rate adequacy remains supportive across most classes," Jefferies says. "We view this as sufficient for QBE to pursue growth areas and new customers." It retains a buy call on QBE's stock.([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2150 GMT - Furniture retailer Nick Scali only needs a modest improvement in sales to reach break-even in the U.K., says Jefferies. Nick Scali requires around GBP25 million of revenue to reach break-even at the pretax profit level there, given current margins of 58%. To achieve this, sales would need to increase by some 24%, which equates to an additional 2.5 orders per store each week, analyst Naveed Fazal Bawa says. "If gross margin can reach 60%, only 2.1 additional orders will be required to break even," Jefferies says. It retains a buy call on Nick Scali and raises its price target by 6.8% to A$23.50/share. Nick Scali ended last week at A$20.49. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires