0137 GMT - Wine producer and distributor Australian Vintage's growth of premium market share can't completely dispel concerns over the challenges it faces in commercial channels, Bell Potter analyst Sam Brandwood says. He tells clients in a note that the distributor of brands including McGuigan still faces declining off-trade consumption trends in commercial wine segments and surging U.K. inflation. Falls in yield volumes from adverse weather conditions appear, anecdotally at least, less severe than at smaller growers, he adds. Bell Potter cuts its target price 23% to A$0.50 and maintains a hold rating on the stock, which is down 1.25% at A$0.4375. (stuart.condie@wsj.com; @StuartLCondie)

0107 GMT - Xero's latest price rises in Australia and New Zealand should lift its average revenue per user by more than previously forecast by Citi analysts. They tell clients in a note that they see ARPU rising 5% on the price hike and offsets any potential weakness in top-line growth stemming from macro challenges. The rises also speak favorably to the cloud-accounting software provider's strong competitive position in its domestic markets, they add. The decision to hold price in the U.K. could be a reflection of the competitive landscape in that market, they say. Citi has a last-published buy rating and A$120.00 target price on the stock, which is up 3.1% at A$117.27. (stuart.condie@wsj.com; @StuartLCondie)

0053 GMT - Appen gets a bump in target price from Jefferies analyst Wei Sim to reflect what he says is the stock's unrealized valuation potential relative to its China-listed peers. Sim adds a sales component to his valuation methodology that was previously solely Ebitda-based, resulting in a 24% jump in target price to A$2.60. He thinks the Australian data-annotation company's China business looks undervalued relative to rivals SpeechOcean and DataTang. Jefferies maintains a hold rating on the stock, which is up 6.9% at A$2.79. (stuart.condie@wsj.com; @StuartLCondie)

2338 GMT - Chemicals firm DGL's profit warning has cost it a bull. DGL says it expects FY 2023 underlying Ebitda of A$64 million-A$66 million because cost increases have eroded margins, especially within its Environmental division. That represented a downgrade to its prior forecast of A$71.5 million-A$73.5 million. "Whilst we continue to like the DGL business, the risks around future earnings growth have clearly increased," says investment bank Morgans, moving to hold from add on the stock. "We will revisit our recommendation once management can provide more guidance around the permanency of the cost increases (and future margins) and we become more comfortable with the business's path toward circa 10-20% per annum of free-cashflow funded earnings growth." (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2336 GMT - Evolution Mining's plan to expand its Mungari gold-mining operation in Australia may not lead to as large a benefit as management hopes, suggests Morgans analyst Sharad Bhat in a note. Evolution this month outlined a A$250 million commitment to expand the Mungari processing plant to 4.2 million tons/year, from 2 million tons. According to Bhat, that represents Mungari's transition to a cornerstone asset of the company. "Evolution estimates scale benefits will lower All-in Sustaining Costs by 18% to a life of mine (LOM) average of A$1,750/oz, although the cost impacts associated with haulage distances to the plant and lower grades are yet to be fully understood and may offset the gains, in our view," Morgans says.(david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2317 GMT - Bell Potter pares its earnings outlook for poultry producer Inghams after reassessing recent trends in inflation, volumes, feed costs and interest rates. In a note, analyst Jonathan Snape suggests softer Australian industry production volumes in 3Q is a negative because Inghams underperformed sector growth rates in 1H by 20 basis points. Bell Potter lowers its FY 2023 net profit forecast by 5% and cuts its FY 2024 view by 6% and FY 2025 projection by 5%. Still, the bank retains a hold call on the stock. "1H23 results demonstrated progress on reversal of a majority of the issues that impacted 2H22 and partial recovery of cost pressures in higher selling prices," Bell Potter says. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2305 GMT - Emeco's small downgrade to the midpoint of prior profit guidance should come as no surprise, says Jefferies analyst Nicholas Rawlinson. That's because previous guidance for Ebitda of A$245 million-A$260 million had always looked a stretch given a tough 1H and the well-documented weather issues that plagued eastern Australia in 2H, he says. "The revised guidance (Ebitda A$248 million-A$252 million) still implies a strong 2H (+6% year-over-year and +20% half-on-half) which should be well-received." Jefferies retains a hold call on Emeco's stock. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

0604 GMT - IAG's 2023 investor day may increase confidence in the view that the insurer's underlying profitability is rebounding following a weak 1H FY 2023, Jarden analysts say in a note, adding that strong premium rate rises support gross written premium growth targets. "With motor and home premium rate rises running at 14% and 20%, respectively--in line with Jarden estimates--IAG appears increasingly confident on FY 2023 GWP growth guidance of around 10%," the investment bank says. Jarden keeps its overweight rating and A$5.50/share target price. IAG rises 4.6% to A$5.47/share. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires