0121 GMT - Generation Development Group gets a new bull at Bell Potter, where analyst Hayden Nicholson sees BlackRock's minority stake as a vote of confidence in the Australian funds administrator. Initiating coverage of the stock with a buy rating, Nicholson tells clients in a note that BlackRock's involvement supports his view that success in retirement or decumulation markets could be radical for GDG. BlackRock's first strategic balance-sheet investment in Australia, which was announced earlier this year, is locked up for five years and set to fund a product launch, he adds. Bell Potter puts an A$8.20 target price on the stock, which is down 1.1% at A$7.03. ([email protected])

0117 GMT - Southern Cross Media's bears at Morgan Stanley could turn bullish on the stock if Australian media reports of industry consolidation turn out to be accurate. The MS analysts have maintained an underweight rating on the audio broadcaster since it issued stronger-than-expected FY 2026 earnings guidance last month. They continue to see structural challenges in FM radio. Still, they acknowledge suggestions that Southern Cross's LiSTNR streaming platform could be a potential M&A prospect and an industry consolidation like that would support their bull case valuation of A$1.20 a share. For now, MS has a A$0.65 target price. Shares are up 2.4% at A$0.855. ([email protected])

0043 GMT - Xero's bull at Citi thinks that other analysts could be underestimating the cloud-accounting provider's AI-driven growth potential. Citi analyst Siraj Ahmed tells clients in a note that he expects the Australia-listed company's AI capabilities to drive a higher product mix, support price growth and increase customer take-up of add-on services. He points out that rival Intuit has flagged AI as a key driver of average-revenue-per-user growth through such avenues. Ahmed observes that Xero is lagging Intuit's Quickbooks in terms of average-revenue-per-user growth, but outperforming on subscriber growth rates. Citi has a buy rating and A$210.00 target price on Xero stock, which is up 0.7% at A$165.00. ([email protected])

0002 GMT - Reece's decision to embark upon an off-market share buyback could hint at potential corporate activity by the Australia-listed plumbing supplies producer, Citi analyst Samuel Seow says. He emphasizes that he has limited insight into the future of Reece's U.S. business, but says that a buyback makes sense if viewed through this lens. Assuming a buyback of between A$250 million and A$400 million, Seow tells clients that net debt would stand at between 1.2 and 1.4 times Ebitda on completion. Citi keeps a neutral rating and A$13.10 target price on the stock, which is at A$11.78 ahead of the open. ([email protected])

2347 GMT - Australian mobile-network operators Telstra and TPG Telecom will likely gain market share as a result of Optus's latest disastrous outage, Macquarie analysts say. The outage was the Singapore Telecommunications-owned company's third major operational issue in three years and the analysts reckon that the cumulative brand damage will lead to consumers looking elsewhere. They tell clients in a note that every additional 1% of churn in Optus's mobile connections presents 36 basis points of upside to Telstra's share price, and 27% basis points for TPG's. They are waiting on evidence before incorporating any changes into their forecasts. ([email protected])

2347 GMT - Santos should clarify some of the speculation about why the XRG-led consortium withdrew its $18.7 billion bid, Macquarie says. If it doesn't, then Santos's stock risks being pushed to a lower trading multiple. One issue suggested to have spooked the consortium are changes to tax rules in Papua New Guinea. Macquarie notes PNG represents 47%-48% of Santos's revenue and 40%-45% of its non-current assets. "Keeping these below 50% could be an argument for retaining Alaska oil assets and domestic assets (which could otherwise make good sense to divest/demerge to realize value)," Macquarie says. It retains an outperform call on Santos, citing "extraordinary value for longer-term investors." It says Santos's shares now imply a $51/bbl oil price, well below current levels and forecasts. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2329 GMT -- The Australian government's changes to aged-care funding aren't great news for Regis Healthcare. Jefferies says they will likely lead to lower direct care margins. "These latest increases to funding are lower than the expected growth in employee expenses," analyst Vanessa Thomson says. "With baby boomers now entering an already undersupplied sector, we wonder what margin government considers acceptable for aged-care operators." Regis yesterday guided to FY 2026 Ebitda of A$130 million-A$135 million. That was below market expectations. In response, Jefferies cuts its EPS forecasts in FY 2026 and FY 2027 by around 11% each. Its price target falls 15% to A$8.40/share. Regis ended Monday at A$6.80. ([email protected])

2246 GMT -- Long-term value on offer to investors in packaging company Amcor is balanced by near-term challenges. That's the view of RBC Capital Markets, which starts Amcor at sector perform and with a A$13.60/share price target. Amcor can create value as it delivers on a target of making some $650 million in savings from integrating the Berry business that it acquired in May. Still, analyst Mark Wilson expects Amcor's share price will remain under pressure as packaging volumes continue to decline and debt concerns arise. "The stock is trading on an FY 2026 enterprise value-to-Ebitda multiple of 9.2x, which represents a 10% premium to U.S. packaging peers," RBC says. Amcor ended Monday at A$12.58. ([email protected])

2239 GMT -- Plumbing fittings supplier Reece's off-market share buyback program signals several positives, says Ord Minnett. Reece aims to repurchase stock valued at A$250 million, and could raise it to A$400 million. This suggests to analyst James Casey that Reece's management believes the stock is undervalued. It demonstrates Reece's strong financial position and its disciplined capital allocation framework. Also, it illustrates management's confidence in the long-term performance of the business, Ord Minnett says. "We maintain our buy recommendation and expect returns to improve from a cyclical low," Ord Minnett says. Reece has fallen some 59% in value over the past 12 months. ([email protected])

2228 GMT -- The corporate appeal of Astral Resources's Mandilla gold project in Australia just got bigger. Gold Fields's recent ore-purchase agreement with Lunnon Metals for gold to be processed at its St Ives Mill suggests it has idle capacity in the near term, Euroz Hartleys says. Astral owns the Theia open-pit deposit at Mandilla, which is some 28 miles from St Ives. Astral ended Monday at A$0.215. That's below Euroz Hartleys's A$0.44/share price target. "Astral's Mandilla project is not just strategic for Gold Fields," analyst Kyle De Souza says. "Companies with a heavy underground portfolio that lack grade (less than 3 grams/ton) will see cost escalation and margin compression faster than open pits and will be forced into considering open pit 'hedges' against cost escalation underground." ([email protected])

0735 GMT - Shares in miners rise in early morning European trade as gold opened the week higher on renewed Middle-East tensions, while silver hit its highest level since 2011, Swissquote Bank's Ipek Ozkardeskaya writes in a note. Mexican precious-metals miner Fresnillo and Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto shares trade 3.9% and 1.35% higher, respectively. Meanwhile, gold miner Endeavour Mining and Anglo-Swiss mining company Glencore shares are up 3.8% and 1%, respectively. ([email protected])

(END) Dow Jones Newswires