2358 GMT - While uranium miner Boss Energy's 2Q result was broadly in line with expectations, there were some negatives in the company's guidance that outweighed positive outcomes, says Ord Minnett. Boss reported 2Q output of 456,000 pounds of U308, a common compound of uranium. That was above consensus expectations of 409,000 lbs. Still, analyst Matthew Hope highlights a first mention of a legacy contract with pricing of some 65%-70% of spot. First deliveries under this contract are due to happen in the next six months. "This will go on for a few years as a total of 1.7 million lbs owed at max 250,000 lbs per annum, dragging down the realized price," Ord Minnett says. Boss is up 6.1% at A$1.91. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2310 GMT - Alkane Resources' 2Q report shows a bumper quarter for the miner, with strong beats on output and costs, says MA Financial analyst Paul Hissey. Production of 43,663 ounces of gold equivalent compares to MA's 38,000-oz estimate. All-in sustaining costs of A$2,739/oz beat MA's estimate of A$3,309/oz. MA's target on the stock rises 19% to A$2.15/share. It reiterates a buy rating. "In our view, ALK presents attractive exposure to gold in a red-hot market whereby some of the larger (household) names screen as relatively more expensive," says Hissey. "A quick assessment of the impact of spot pricing on ALK reveals some compelling leverage." Hissey reckons Alkane could generate a further A$170 million in cash before the end of FY 2026, followed by roughly A$460 million more through FY 2027. Alkane Tuesday rose 3.1% to A$1.66. ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

2307 GMT - Freightways's latest acquisition helps to cement Macquarie's bullish view of its stock. Freightways recently said it will acquire VT Freight Express, adding some A$77 million of annual revenue. Freightways expects the deal to boost its EPS by 6% in the first full year of ownership. "Despite the recent multiple expansion, we believe that the EPS growth from the Australian acquisition and the expected EPS growth through leveraging the New Zealand economic recovery supports an Outperform recommendation," Macquarie says of Freightways. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2304 GMT - Karoon Energy's decision to rethink how it could develop its Neon oil field offshore Brazil catches Macquarie off guard. Karoon has been running a process to sell a 30%-40% stake in Neon with a view to using a floating production, storage, and offloading vessel at the site. "We were surprised to see commentary it is considering alternate development concepts (the FPSO market will have got more challenging, and Karoon now acknowledges the lower oil price outlook)," says Macquarie. It now attributes only A$0.04/share of value to Neon, down from A$0.19. Macquarie downgrades Karoon's stock to underperform form neutral and lowers its price target by 9% to A$1.50/share. Karoon ended Tuesday at A$1.635. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2203 GMT - Jefferies stays cautious about costume jewelry retailer Lovisa, even though it could beat expectations for its store network in 1H. Analyst John Campbell expects Lovisa had 1,088 stores at end-December. But the actual network size could be above 1,100 based on web searches. Jefferies is also upbeat about Lovisa's focus on more affluent countries. Still, it retains a hold call and A$32.00/share price target on Lovisa, which ended Tuesday at A$31.07. "In this challenged consumer environment in Australia, U.S. and Europe, we remain cautious on Lovisa in the short term," says Jefferies. It says maintaining industry-leading gross margins is more important than the store rollout. "This becomes increasingly challenging in a tough consumer environment in the face of significant cheap online competition," Jefferies says. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2114 GMT - Monadelphous's valuation is at an 80% premium to global engineering contractors. Jefferies finds that hard to justify, despite its largely unblemished history of delivering on contracts. Analyst John Campbell notes Monadelphous has changed its business mix over the past decade. Maintenance work now accounts for a majority of revenue. "While it's more future-proof, it's not immune to weaker capex," Jefferies says. Prices of some commodities, notably copper and gold, are positive for mine developments. But others, such as nickel and zinc, are not. Minerals processing is also having a hard time. "Most existing Australian smelters now require government subsidies to remain viable," says Jefferies. "This is not conducive to future investment." It retains an underperform call, but raises its price target by 17% to A$21.00/share. Monadelphous ended Tuesday at A$31.07. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2107 GMT - Electro Optic Systems's order book is one reason why Ord Minnett is bullish about the defense equipment maker's stock. EOS's forward order book now stands at A$579 million, including a conditional High Energy Laser Weapons contract with a customer in South Korea. Analyst John Lawlor says this positions EOS at the start of what will likely be a virtuous cash flow cycle. "The order book strength provides leverage in future contract negotiations, it will allow EOS to hold (or possibly increase) margins, and it will reduce future cash bonding requirements," Ord Minnett says. It retains an speculative buy call and A$12.72/share price target on EOS, which ended Tuesday at A$10.18. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires