0151 GMT - It is tough to dismiss mining services contractors like Perenti in the current commodities cycle, says Citi analyst William Park. "There is no shortage of opportunities out there across mining and drilling services, with PRN remaining disciplined when it comes to return hurdles and capital allocation," Park says in a client note. That should underpin a solid 1H result for Perenti, which reports next month, he says. "We expect PRN to reiterate FY26 guidance, improving rig utilization trends with respect to Drilling Services, and provide an update on its CEO succession process," Park says. Citi reiterates a buy rating and a target price of A$3.10 on the stock. Perenti is up 2.4% at A$2.96. ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

0116 GMT - Fortescue risks missing cost guidance, particularly as the AUD/USD exchange rate rises, says Bell Potter analyst David Coates. Second-quarter C1 costs were higher than the top end of Fortescue's annual guidance range and now sit just above guidance for FY 2026 year to date, says Coates. "FMG is guiding for lower strip ratios to help reduce costs," Coates says. Yet the broker raises its assumed FY mining costs by 2% to US$19.09/ton, to reflect the latest reported costs. Fortescue's FY guidance is for C1 costs between US$17.50 and US$18.50/ton. Bell Potter has a hold rating on Fortescue. It raises its target to A$20.30 from A$19.30, citing higher-than-expected iron-ore prices. Fortescue is up 1.1% at A$21.74. ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

0058 GMT - Regis Resources' lack of organic growth options bodes well for its dividend outlook, according to Citi analyst Jack Whelan. The miner ended Dec. 31 with A$930 million cash and bullion, no debt and no major capital projects, he says. Regis plans to publish a capital-management policy alongside its 1H result that Whelan expects will be "favorable toward dividends." Citi raises its target on the stock to A$7.50 from A$6.30, underpinned by rising gold prices. Still, it reiterates a sell rating. The stock has an implied gold price of US$5,100/oz, "which is expensive compared to peers," says Whelan. Regis is unchanged at A$8.35. ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

0042 GMT - Mall owner Scentre is a newly bearish call of Macquarie as bond yields shift higher. Macquarie downgrades Scentre to underperform, from neutral, and cuts its price target by 12% to A$3.64/share as it factors in the impact of the upward movement in bond yields on capitalization rates and asset values. Scentre has outperformed the ASX 200 A-Reit sector by some 18 percentage points over the past 12 months as direct investor interest in malls thaws, Macquarie notes. Scentre is down 0.5% at A$4.09. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

0031 GMT - Sonic Healthcare gets a sell call from Citi, which says Australian Medicare data for pathology looks worse than it expected. "Sonic's results are not perfectly correlated but we have halved our near-term growth forecasts for Australia revenue [circa 20% of the top line] to 2.5%," says analyst Laura Sutcliffe. Citi also thinks Sonic's U.S. business could continue to underperform. It points to mid-single digit growth estimates from larger competitors which have recently outperformed Sonic. "Our 1H revenue estimates are near consensus, but we are 5% below for net profit," Citi says. "We put in place a negative 30-day catalyst watch." It downgrades Sonic to sell, from neutral, and lowers its price target by 11% to A$21.00. Sonic is down 2.9% at A$22.66. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

0027 GMT - Australian imaging-tech provider Pro Medicus's solid start to FY 2026 contributes to Macquarie upgrading the stock to outperform, from neutral. Macquarie says it now has increased confidence in Pro Medicus's ability to expand its share of the U.S. market. "We see recent softness in the share price as transient," Macquarie says. "The implementation of AI tools will strengthen Pro Medicus's offering, while new contracts in FY 2026 supports growth across all customer types." Pro Medicus is up 1.8% at A$184.11. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2217 GMT - Regis Resources's planned update to its capital management framework next month comes against the backdrop of a record gold price. On Monday, gold rose 2.1% to US$5079.70 an ounce and is up in five consecutive trading sessions on Comex. UBS analyst Levi Spry says Regis's producing asset base and operational consistency position it favorably to maximize on the strength in the gold price. Regis now holds A$930 million in cash and bullion. That was up A$255 million in 2Q even after the payment of dividends. "We model a 25% payout ratio of net profit alongside free cash flow yields of 14/13% for FY26/27 at an undemanding enterprise value-to-Ebitda of 3.4/2.9x," UBS says. It retains a buy call on Regis's stock. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2211 GMT - Sandfire Resources is now in a net cash position, putting potential shareholder returns in the spotlight. According to UBS, management seems pretty clear it won't hold excess cash on the balance sheet. "As such with limited material capex on the horizon and Black Butte potentially offloaded, we expect material returns from August," analyst Levi Spry says. Black Butte is Sandfire's undeveloped copper project in Montana, which UBS values at more than A$300 million. UBS says competition for excess capital includes dividends, share buybacks, and discretionary investments. It has a sell call on Sandfire, which ended last week at A$19.06. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires