0439 GMT - If Anglo American tries to buy Teck Resources, it could itself become vulnerable to a new bid by BHP Group or another company, according to Jefferies analysts. That's because Anglo's share price "will likely be under pressure if the company plans on paying a large premium to get a Teck deal to the finish line," they say. That happened in 2007 when Freeport-McMoRan bought Phelps Dodge after Phelps had attempted to acquire Canada's Inco and Falconbridge, say the analysts. They reckon GBP30-GBP32/share is a "reasonable" price to acquire Anglo. ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

0420 GMT - Rival bidders are likely to emerge for Teck Resources if the Canadian miner is actually "for sale," Jefferies analysts say in a note. Their remarks follow a Bloomberg report that Anglo American is in advanced talks to acquire Teck. "A bidding war could ensue," they say. The analysts say there is logic to a takeover by Anglo American, given "significant synergies" between Teck's 60%-owned QB operations and Anglo's 44%-owned Collahuasi mine. They raise Jefferies' target price on Teck to C$74/share from C$60. Its shares are deeply undervalued, they say. "We have been expecting a new wave of M&A in mining, and this could be the start of it," say the analysts. ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

0110 GMT - Westpac's bears at Morgan Stanley reckon that the Australian bank's share price reflects too much investor optimism about its mortgage ambitions. MS analysts say that the stock's recent rally suggests that investors have embraced Westpac's growth strategy. However, they warn that the lender's aspiration to regain what it has called its natural share of both Australia's home-loan market and business banking will increase up-front costs. They warn of emerging margin headwinds and investment costs, while still forecasting Westpac's FY 2026 mortgage lending to grow at a slower pace than the overall market. MS cuts its target price 1.6% to A$31.60 and keeps an underweight recommendation on the stock, which is down 0.9% at A$37.63. ([email protected])

0102 GMT - Zip's fiscal 2026 earnings could be stronger than those expected by its bull at Citi. Analyst Siraj Ahmed's cash-earnings forecast of A$241 million is already about 1% of consensus, but he tells clients in a note that even this might be conservative given the Australia-listed payment provider's momentum in the U.S. He says that U.S. app downloads continued to accelerate in August, which is positive for customer growth. The launch of Zip's two-installment plan is also likely to prove positive for transaction frequency and repeat usage, he adds. Citi has a last-published buy rating and A$4.50 target price on the stock, which is down 1.0% at A$4.495. ([email protected])

0058 GMT - WiseTech Global's bull at Citi sees potential for first-half revenue from its CargoWise platform to beat expectations. The logistics-software provider has guided for full-year revenue of US$1.39 billion-US$1.44 billion, which analyst Siraj Ahmed reckons implies 10% first-half growth at CargoWise. He tells clients in a note that there are no signs of slowing usage among large goods freight forwarders and that WiseTech pushed through a 5% price increase on July 1. This could be enough to beat that implied guidance, he says. Citi keeps a buy rating and A$121.35 target price on the stock, which is down 1.7% at A$93.75. ([email protected])

2358 GMT - Nine Entertainment gets a new bull at Jefferies, where analyst Roger Samuel sees English Premier League soccer rights improving pricing power at the media conglomerate's streaming platform. Samuel raises his recommendation on the stock to buy from hold, telling clients in a note that he expects FY 2026 expansion in average revenue per user at Nine's Stan streaming service. He also thinks that Nine will renew its news contract with Google, and that any lift to advertising spend at CoStar-owned property portal Domain should be beneficial. Jefferies lifts its target price 58% to A$1.90. Shares are at A$1.66 ahead of the open. ([email protected])

2246 GMT -- Metro Mining could miss its annual production target due to weather-related disruptions, but Shaw & Partners remains bullish about the stock. Metro Mining shipped 753,000 tons of bauxite in August, up 6% on year. That puts the company on track to ship 2.2 million tons in the three months through September, which would be a record quarter. Still, bad weather meant August shipments were about 80,000 tons below target. "Metro has maintained guidance of 6.5 million-7.0 million tons for 2025, but we have brought our forecast back to 6.3 million tons to be conservative," analyst Andrew Hines says. "This doesn't change our positive view on Metro which is on track to generate A$140 million Ebitda in 2025, lifting to over A$200 million in 2026." ([email protected])

2235 GMT -- Australian regulator APRA has proposed changes to the capital settings for annuity products, which could be a game changer for funds manager Challenger, Citi says. If implemented, the changes are likely to lead to a substantial release of capital, a higher EPS and an improved return on equity. While the timing is uncertain, Citi expects APRA's final proposals will be known reasonably soon. "Meanwhile, a more pronounced upward sloping yield curve, if it transpires, should help Challenger increase the duration of its annuities book," analyst Nigel Pittaway says. Citi has a buy call on Challenger and A$9.20/share price target. Challenger ended Monday at A$8.41. ([email protected])

(END) Dow Jones Newswires