0023 GMT - Bubs Australia is impressing Shaw & Partners analyst Philip Pepe with its U.S. growth. Pepe tells clients that the infant-formula manufacturer's U.S. distribution reach looks strong given that it only entered the country in 2022. Bubs, which specializes in goat-milk formulas, has been operating on a discretionary basis pending permanent access approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Pepe reckons this permanent approval should arrive soon. Shaw & Partners keeps a buy rating and A$0.18 target price on the stock, which is flat at A$0.10. ([email protected])

0017 GMT - AMP's bull at Citi reckons that the Australian wealth manager's A$150 million share buyback should alleviate some of the concerns that have weighed on its shares since last month's annual result announcement. Analyst Nigel Pittaway thinks that the buyback should provide greater context to AMP's guidance for flat dividends for two years, while reducing the chances of it making a large-scale platform acquisition. Citi keeps a buy rating and A$1.80 target price on the stock despite current global volatility. Shares are up 4.4% at A$1.305. ([email protected])

2325 GMT - Judo Capital's bulls at Morgan Stanley think investors are already pricing in a high probability that loan growth slows and losses rise due to a weak Australian economy. Analysts at MS remain more positive, estimating just a 30% chance of this bear scenario, albeit up from 10% previously. Their base scenario for the Australian business lender is that it can deliver strong earnings growth and a double-digit return on equity within two years. This is seen as twice as likely as the bear scenario. MS cuts its target price 14% to A$1.90 but keep an overweight rating on the stock, which is down 7.3% at A$1.34. ([email protected])

2322 GMT - Greatland's mineral resource update highlights the continued scale of the Telfer gold deposit, says MA Financial's Paul Hissey. "The inclusion of a maiden resource for West Dome Underground and extensions at Main Dome Underground outline exciting high-grade additions which can serve as a supplement to the base load low-grade open pit," says Hissey. Higher assumed prices also contribute to the upgrade, he says. "We think the inventory will grow as drilling continues in earnest, especially at the underground deposits," Hissey says. He adds that Greatland's tungsten resource at O'Callaghans "may be a useful option" but that it is less significant than the potential held within the miner's gold assets. MA has a sell rating and A$10.10 target on Greatland. Shares ended Friday at A$9.76. ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

2321 GMT - Catapult Sports' trading update supports its continued status as Bell Potter's preferred pick of Australia-listed mid-cap tech stocks. Maintaining a buy rating on the stock, analyst Chris Savage tells clients in a note that the athletic-tech provider's free cash-flow miss isn't a concern, and points to underlying growth and annualized contract revenue as key positives. He acknowledges that earnings may have been slightly softer in 2H than in 1H, but is waiting on May's full-year result announcement before drawing conclusions. Bell Potter trims its target price 2.1% to A$4.75. Shares are down 5.9% at A$3.21. ([email protected])

2243 GMT - Australian miners should have enough diesel to bridge a short disruption in fuel supplies, Jefferies says. Miners appear to have roughly 1-3 weeks of diesel on site and about 4-6 weeks of inbound supply visibility, it says. "The more credible and lasting impact is ongoing cost inflation from the rise in diesel pricing, even in a de-escalation scenario," says Jefferies. Elevated diesel prices will drive up costs of everything from contract mining, consumables, reagent freight and contract haulage to export logistics, shipping and mine-site aviation, it says. "Higher costs could be manageable in a positive commodity environment," says Jefferies. "However, a longer conflict and tighter oil markets point to a stagflation squeeze." Jefferies highlights coal and iron ore miners as most at risk given the large volumes they need to move. ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

2242 GMT - The departure of two senior Webjet leaders in as many months could put the Australian travel agent back in the cross hairs of bidders, says RBC Capital Markets. Webjet today said Group CEO Katrina Barry will step down after delivering the company's FY result in May. RBC notes Webjet OTA chief executive David Galt also stepped down in late February. "We view the departures of Webjet's two most senior managers as potentially now creating a leadership vacuum which could play into the hands of recent would-be suitors who still both hold significant stakes in Webjet," analyst Wei-Weng Chen says. Helloworld and private equity firm BGH Capital each hold 18.3% stakes in Webjet, despite takeover talks ending in mid-February. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2226 GMT - U.S. investors' main question for UBS about Australian miners: How much diesel do they have? Questions about diesel supply have been ramping up as investors weigh the prospect of fuel rationing in Australia, UBS analysts say. They range from "cost impacts and sensitivities for each of our miners to potential for rationing/the pathway to demand destruction and supply conservation," UBS says. In a separate note, UBS analysts say they met with 17 mining companies in Western Australia recently. "Companies we spoke to noted anywhere from 1 week to 1 month of fuel supplies on hand, but no visibility beyond mid-April given uncertainty around the timing of the end to the Middle Eastern conflict," UBS says. ([email protected]; @RhiannonHoyle)

2224 GMT - BWP Trust's shares could re-rate if Wesfarmers decides to sell its 23.5% stake in the industrial property owner, Macquarie says. Wesfarmers's stake is worth A$630 million. "Given the level of capital demand in the sector and the low average value of large format retail assets (less than A$50 million), a strategic holder could get exposure to a scale portfolio in a single tranche," Macquarie says. BWP Trust last year completed the internalization of its management functions. In the wake of that move "we believe there is limited strategic rationale for the holding," Macquarie says. It starts coverage of BWP Trust at outperform with a A$3.90/share price target. BWP Trust ended last week at A$3.70. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2209 GMT - Amplitude Energy's next well is effectively a must-win for the growth thesis, says Morgans. Amplitude recently said the natural-gas discovery by the Isabella-1 well couldn't be developed commercially. Analyst Adrian Prendergast says Amplitude's balance sheet and A$100 million of Ebitdax in 1H buy it time. "Our view on value in Amplitude has been dented, but not destroyed," Morgans says. Still, it retains a buy call. "While it is hard to ignore such large short-term catalysts, we keep coming back to our value on Amplitude's existing production of A$2.75/share, which remains a high-watermark, low-case valuation for the stock," Morgans says. Amplitude ended last week at A$1.59/share, roughly half of Morgans's new A$3.00/share price target. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2159 GMT - Investors in Australian mall owner Scentre should be alert to an elevated level of interest-rate hedges due to expire in FY 2027, says UBS. Analyst Solomon Zhang says Scentre's interest rate hedging will fall to 38%, from 82%, over the 12 months through December 2027. "This means A$5.7 billion of interest rate hedges--which happen to have very low hedge rates of 2.6%--will expire in 2027 and step up to higher floating base rates (BBSW)," UBS says. It estimates this will create a A$100 million cost headwind across 2027/2028. UBS retains a sell call and A$3.50/share price target on Scentre, which ended last week at A$3.36. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

2129 GMT - Australian refineries can only meet a fraction of domestic fuel demand, says Jefferies. The conflict in Iran is driving up prices of gasoline and diesel, with Australia's competition regulator concerned about supply issues in areas including city suburbs, regional towns and remote areas. Jefferies estimates Australia's refinery production can meet some 37% of gasoline demand and only around 14% of diesel demand. That's based on an analysis of Australian Petroleum Statistics data for last year. "Even in Queensland and Victoria, where Ampol and Viva Energy have refineries respectively, production at Lytton and Geelong is insufficient to meet total state demand for either gasoline or diesel," analyst Michael Simotas says. ([email protected]; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires