0328 GMT - REA Group's bull at Citi views the selloff that followed the real-estate advertiser's 1H profit miss as overdone. Analyst Siraj Ahmed reckons the fall is large given the scale of the miss. However, any negative news was always likely to be badly received, given elevated concerns across the sector, he says. The analyst tells clients in a note that the News Corp-controlled company's expectation of continued double-digit yield growth in fiscal 2027 is a positive. Ahmed notes that the driver of the 1H profit miss relative to his forecasts was the effective tax rate expected across the full year. Citi has a buy rating and a A$222.70 target price on the stock, which is down 7.4% at A$168.90. News Corp is the parent company of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. ([email protected])

0114 GMT - The failure of deal talks between Rio Tinto and Glencore illustrates the challenges in doing large-scale copper M&A as the market runs red hot, RBC Capital Markets analyst Kaan Peker says. Rio Tinto was unwilling to stretch too far on a premium for long-dated copper options "at cycle-peak prices, while Glencore refused to crystallize its copper growth pipeline upfront," says Peker. "The strategic implication is a shift towards asset-level copper transactions." That means more carve-outs, minority stakes and project partnerships, rather than megamergers, Peker says. Rio Tinto is little changed in Sydney at A$157.11. ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

0059 GMT - It is disappointing that Rio Tinto and Glencore couldn't get a deal done, Wilson Asset Management portfolio manager Matthew Haupt says after the companies confirmed they have ended merger discussions. "The more work I did on it, the more I thought: Oh, what a great opportunity for the two companies to come together," he says. Yet Haupt says he's happy Rio Tinto was "not willing to do what most mining companies do and just pay up." Haupt holds Rio's Australia-listed shares in one fund, and London-listed stock in another. He considered buying Glencore as a hedge "in case Rio paid up," he says. "I'm glad I didn't." ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

0020 GMT - Any deal to marry mining giants Rio Tinto and Glencore was going to be complex. While talks between the companies ended over disagreements on value, "the complexity of integrating Glencore's diverse commodity basket--spanning metals, coal, and a large trading operation--into Rio's streamlining strategy likely contributed to the difficulty in finding mutually acceptable terms," says CRU analyst William Tankard. Shares in Rio Tinto are 0.4% lower in Sydney, at A$156.52/share. ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

2340 GMT - A roughly 30% fall in Treasury Wine Estates's share price so far this year doesn't dissuade UBS from downgrading the vintner to sell, from neutral. UBS says Treasury Wine is operating against a significantly challenged industry backdrop. Demand for alcohol, especially wine, has fallen. Treasury Wine's skew toward California in its U.S. business is a headwind, partly because tourism has softened there. Also, its gearing is elevated and an overhang in the near term. UBS expects Treasury Wine's net debt-to-Ebitda to rise to 3.0X at the end of June, from 2.5X six months earlier. It doesn't expect the company to pay any dividends from 1H of FY 2026 through the end of FY 2027. UBS cuts its price target by 9.5% to A$4.75/share. Treasury Wine is down 5.1% at A$5.24/share. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2337 GMT - The end of takeover talks with Rio Tinto gives investors a chance to nab Glencore shares "an even more attractive discount," Barclays analysts say in a note. "Meanwhile for RIO the impact is likely to be broadly share price neutral, in our view," say the analysts. Barclays has an overweight rating on both stocks. It has a price target of 525 pence on Glencore, and a sum-of-the-parts valuation of 723p for 2027. Barclays has a 6,885p on Rio Tinto's London shares. ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

2302 GMT - REA Group's first-half update looks negative to RBC analyst Garry Sherriff despite the Australian real-estate advertiser's buyback announcement. Sherriff points out in a note that cost growth in Australia outpaced revenue growth, while listing volumes fell by more than expected in the Perth and Brisbane markets. He acknowledges that the News Corp-controlled company's A$200 million buyback and healthy balance sheet are positives, but warns that rising interest rates are typically bad news for listings volumes. RBC has a last-published sector perform rating and A$225.00 target price on the stock, which is at A$182.39 ahead of the open. News Corp is the parent company of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. ([email protected])

2237 GMT - Supermarket chain Woolworths's profit margin has likely come under pressure, setting it up to miss consensus expectations in 1H, contends Morgan Stanley. Woolworths's food business in Australia likely experienced a contraction of 30 basis points in its 1H gross profit margin. That reflects a significant step up in promotional activity in 2Q, analyst Melinda K. Baxter says. Woolworths doesn't have many levers to offset that impact in the near term. MS suggests Woolworths's share price could fall by mid-single-digit percent if it's right. It retains an equal-weight call and A$31.30/share price target on Woolworths, which ended Thursday at A$31.61. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2232 GMT - Beach Energy is downgraded to sell, from neutral, by UBS because its rising cash flow isn't likely to head the way of shareholders for some time. "We do not expect shareholders to see a material lift in dividends/total return over the next 12-24 months," says analyst Tom Allen. That's because Beach is likely to prioritize investment in growth via M&A and exploration, UBS says. Beach's A$0.01/share interim dividend missed consensus expectations. "We believe Beach screens as expensive on a relative basis, trading at an implied oil price of US$76/bbl versus Santos (most preferred) and Woodside Energy at US$63/bbl & US$73/bbl, respectively," UBS says. Its price target falls 8.7% to A$1.05/share. Beach ended Thursday at A$1.20. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2159 GMT - While it is possible that Rio Tinto and Glencore revisit merger talks again in the future, "that is not our base case," Jefferies analyst Christopher LaFemina says in a note. "Rio likely goes it alone," he says. LaFemina expects the miner to refocus on the strategy it outlined at an investor briefing in December, targeting cost cutting and asset sales. "The question then is what is Glencore's plan B?" he says. "Coal de-merger? Have discussions with another possible merger partner? Focus inward on its own copper portfolio?" LaFemina reckons there are ways for Glencore to unlock shareholder value, but notes that a takeover by Rio Tinto "would have been the simplest and most elegant path." ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

2122 GMT - The difficulties laid bare by Synlait Milk in its 1H update were far worse than Forsyth Barr anticipated. Synlait said its 1H underlying Ebtida would be between breakeven and NZ$5 million. It's on track for a statutory net loss of up to NZ$82 million. Synlait pointed to ongoing costs and operational impacts from manufacturing challenges at its Dunsandel plant and lower relative returns from its ingredients portfolio. A lack of detail from Synlait provides little confidence in how these issues will be resolved, says analyst Matt Montgomerie. "While valuation support is evident (share price implied Dunsandel valuation of NZ$190 million versus replacement cost of likely more than NZ$1 billion and asset value of NZ$500 million), confidence in the equity story remains challenging," Forsyth Barr says. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2110 GMT - Jefferies pushes back the timing of first revenues from Neuren Pharmaceuticals's trofinetide treatment for Rett Syndrome in the European Union following a setback in getting approval. Neuren says its partner, Acadia Pharmaceuticals, was recently informed by a key committee of the European Medicines Agency of a negative trend vote on its Marketing Authorization Application for trofinetide. Analyst David Stanton says this was likely due to concerns about the effect size of the confirmatory trial. "As a result of this news, and to be conservative, we now assume royalties from EU sales of trofinetide at start 4Q FY26," Jefferies says. That's six months later than its prior forecast. Jefferies cuts its FY 2026 net profit forecast for Neuren by 17% to A$48.1 million, from A$58.2 million. It retains a buy call on the stock. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2109 GMT - Maas Group's decision to sell its construction materials division to Heidelberg for A$1.70 billion surprises Jefferies, who says it increases the company's risk profile. Still, a strategic pivot toward higher-growth infrastructure projects has merit. "The demand tailwinds for the electrification sector, with Maas's expertise and the material shortages for skilled electrical contractors/trades, position them well to capitalize," analyst John Campbell says. The deal with Heidelberg will leave Maas with around A$650 million of net cash. That could drive EPS higher over the long term. Jefferies retains a buy call and A$5.25/share price target on Maas. It hasn't updated forecasts as it waits for relevant approvals of the deal with Heidelberg. Maas ended Thursday at A$4.11. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires