0357 GMT - ResMed's bull at Citi thinks the market is underestimating the breath-tech provider's medium-term margin-expansion capacity. Analyst Laura Sutcliffe points out that consensus for a fiscal 2026 gross margin of 62% is in-line with guidance, but ignores management's later growth ambitions. She thinks that 63% is achievable in fiscal 2027 and beyond. A good performance through fiscal 2026 could prompt analysts to rerate the stock, she writes in a note. Citi initiates coverage of ResMed's U.S.-listed stock with a US$330.00 target price and a buy rating. It also rated ResMed's Australia-listed stock a buy, and lifts its target price 4.1% to A$51.00. ([email protected])

0319 GMT - Cochlear loses its bull at Citi, where analyst Laura Sutcliffe sees potential for affordability issues to weigh on consumer demand for its hearing tech. Sutcliffe tells clients in a note that she remains optimistic that the Australia-listed company can maintain its market-leading position, but suspects that fiscal 2026 growth will be weighted toward the second half of the period. She points out that while the knowledge that newer products were on the way meant some patients were reluctant to upgrade in fiscal 2025, affordability was also a factor in delayed spending. Citi cuts its target price by 8.6% to A$320.00 and reduces its recommendation to neutral from buy. Shares are down 1.0% at A$292.00. ([email protected])

0100 GMT - Pharmaceutical supplier Ebos shakes its bear at Citi following the recent sharp selloff in its stock. With the stock down by more than 25% since the dual-listed company reported its annual results on Aug. 27, the investment bank raises its recommendation to neutral from sell. Analyst Laura Sutcliffe says shares are now trading at about 17 times estimated FY 2027 core earnings, which is close to their historical average. She sets her target price a little lower to reflect the softer-than-expected margins reported last month. Citi cuts its target price on Ebos's Australia-listed stock by 12.5% to A$28.00. Shares are up 3.0% at A$26.15. ([email protected])

0023 GMT - Ansell's confidence that it can offset the impact of tariffs helps keep Citi neutral on the stock. Analyst Laura Sutcliffe writes in a note that the personal-protective equipment manufacturer's sales growth will increase as a result of its price rises, but that the impact on Ebit will be neutral. She tells clients that some of the price rises have already been implemented and that the non-discretionary nature of the products supports acceptance by customers. Sutcliffe wouldn't be surprised if Ansell announces a new set of performance goals, but for now sees a multiple of 15 times fiscal 2027 core earnings as fair. Citi raises its target price 6.0% to A$35.50. Shares are up 1.6% at A$33.76. ([email protected])

2355 GMT - Pro Medicus's new bull at Citi is untroubled by the medical-imaging provider's extreme earnings multiple. Analyst Laura Sutcliffe tells clients in a note that the Australia-listed company's proposition that it can increase radiologist productivity by about 25% is compelling given the global shortage of qualified practitioners. The length of Pro Medicus's contracts, its high renewal rates, and this demand dynamic prompt Sutcliffe to raise her outer-year revenue growth forecasts, from 20% in five years' time to 25% or higher. She says this growth justifies a multiple of more than 100 times earnings. Citi lifts its rating to buy from sell and raises its target price by 59% to A$350.00. Shares are at A$298.81 ahead of the open. ([email protected])

2342 GMT - There doesn't appear to be a quick fix for Ramsay Health Care's Elysium mental health services business in the U.K., according to Citi. "Persistent occupancy problems and cost pressures lead us to think the road to a better performance is at least two years long," analyst Laura Sutcliffe says. Elysium's underlying Ebit fell 61% in FY 2025, compared to a 17% rise by its other U.K. operations. Earlier this year Ramsay paused investment in adding new sites for Elysium as it concentrates on improving performance. For Citi, Ramsay is effectively in damage limitation mode. "We do not rule out more drastic action from management," the bank says. It has a neutral call on Ramsay, and trims its price target by 10% to A$36.00/share. Ramsay ended Thursday at A$32.95. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2334 GMT - Pantoro Gold's stock has more than tripled in value since the start of the year, supported by prices of the precious metal repeatedly hitting new record highs. "Pantoro appears to have turned a corner operationally and we see upside to FY 2026 guidance given recent performance," analyst Ross Bennett says. "However, the recent stock-price rally has somewhat diminished short-term upside." Morgans starts Pantoro at "hold," with a A$5.33/share price target. It expects current commodity prices to help drive solid earnings and production growth for Pantoro. "These are complemented by >50% Ebitda margin in our base case," Morgans adds. Pantoro ended Thursday at A$5.35. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2322 GMT -- Optimists on Santos will pivot to a "break up" argument in the aftermath of the XRG-led consortium dropping its $18.7 billion takeover offer, Morgans says. For those investors, the sum of Santos's parts are worth more than its whole and separate domestic natural-gas and LNG businesses would support higher valuations. "Certainly possible, but given the reserve constraints faced by both GLNG and Darwin LNG we do not treat this as a probable scenario to consider," analyst Adrian Prendergast says, referring to Santos's LNG facilities in Australia. Morgans cuts Santos to trim, from accumulate, saying the stock looks modestly overvalued on fundamentals alone. ([email protected])

2311 GMT -- Morgan Stanley estimates ANZ needs to find up to A$2.0 billion of cost savings if it wants to achieve likely medium-term targets under new CEO Nuno Matos. Analyst Richard E. Wiles thinks twin goals of 11-12% return on equity and a CTI ratio of less than 48% within three years would be plausible. MS says its forecasts already assume cost savings totaling A$1.15 billion, including from changes to simplify the bank. "We estimate that even greater savings of A$1.5 billion-A$2.0 billion would require cost reduction of 15-20% in Australian banking and the group center, with a reduction of 10.0-12.5% in the Institutional and New Zealand divisions," MS says. Its price target rises 2.7% to A$30.50/share. ANZ ended Thursday at A$32.86. ([email protected])

2258 GMT -- Santos's share price is likely to remain volatile in the near term as investors adjust to the Australian energy company no longer being a bid target of the XRG consortium, Morgan Stanley says. Investors in Santos must digest several uncertainties, including around domestic energy supply and the decommissioning of some assets. It will take time for fundamentals, such as Santos's free cash flow yield, to reassert themselves, analyst Rob Koh says. MS cuts its price target on Santos by 21% to A$7.00/share, but retains an equal-weight call. Karoon Energy presents the most upside for investors among Australian energy stocks, MS says. Santos ended Thursday at A$6.74, down 12% across that session after the XRG consortium withdraw its bid proposal. ([email protected])

1051 GMT - M&C Saatchi made a good start to the year, but its performance took a turn in the second quarter, hurt by industrywide challenges that hit its Australian business particularly hard, Peel Hunt's Jessica Pok and Melanie Yang say in a note. "The problem child was Australia, which has a higher number of consumer-focused clients, who have been spending cautiously," the analysts say. The U.K. advertising company now expects like-for-like net revenue to decline and profit to be flat this year, which points to a significant profitability improvement in the second half, Peel Hunt says. While M&C Saatchi's top-line performance should be subdued, the company is taking action to improve profitability, the analysts say. Shares fall 6.9% to 156 pence. ([email protected])

(END) Dow Jones Newswires