0418 GMT - Tighter restrictions on gaming machines in Australia's Victoria state deliver on the operational risk already factored into Endeavour's valuation, Goldman Sachs analysts say. They tell clients that the announcement of new regulations was unexpected but that they had already lowered the stock's Ebit multiple to 12 to reflect operational risk. Their initial estimate is for a 0.5%-1.8% hit to Endeavour's fiscal 2024 Ebit, but they acknowledge that it is hard to be accurate at this stage. They want to see further company commentary and implementation details before assessing the full impact of the new regulations. GS has a last-published buy rating and A$7.50 target price on the stock, which is down 10% at A$5.61. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0228 GMT - IGO's impairment of the assets it acquired from Western Areas last year was much larger than Citi analysts Kate McCutcheon and Alexander Papaioanou had expected. They say in a note to the clients that the A$880 million-A$980 million noncash impairment compares with an acquisition price of A$1.3 billion for the Cosmos and Forrestania assets. They are left wondering how bad the Cosmos nickel asset will turn out to be, having anticipated an impairment of about A$410 million. They value Cosmos and Forrestania at a combined A$380 million. Citi trims its target price 3.0% to A$16.30 and stays neutral on the stock, which is down 5.0% at A$15.31. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0023 GMT - Website data analysis by Citi suggests weak trends across Appen's two largest customers, analyst Siraj Ahmed says. Ahmed says in a note to clients that there is a risk that the lift for 2H revenue expected by the Australia-listed data-annotation company may not happen. He points out that traffic to Facebook's rating website hit another low in June. Traffic to Google's rating website rose on-year, but referral traffic from Appen declined sharply, he adds. He notes that key competitor Telus International also downgraded its guidance. Citi has a last-published sell rating and A$2.40 target price on the stock, which is down 2.6% at A$2.28. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0005 GMT - Medibank's policyholder growth looks resilient but concerns remain over possible ramifications from the recent cyberattack on the health insurer, Citi analysts say. They tell clients in a note that they are confident that Medibank can hit its fiscal 2023 guidance for policyholder growth and see growth momentum heading into fiscal 2024. Customer retention should benefit from the return of claims savings, they add. Yet they point out that Medibank still faces class actions and a regulatory review related to the cyberattack, which likely kills any chance of near-term capital initiatives. Citi maintains a A$3.45 target price and neutral rating on the stock, which was at A$3.35 ahead of Monday's open. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

2331 GMT - Accent could consider cutting its dividend to preserve capital while weak consumer demand weighs on sales, Citi analysts say in a note. Citi analysts tell clients that the sneaker and fashion retailer could have a higher price-to-earnings multiple if it reduced debt. It would also help if investors had greater conviction on where Accent is going to derive longer-term growth from, they add. Citi cuts it EPS forecasts for fiscal 2023 through fiscal 2025 by between 7% and 9%, citing higher costs and weakening sales momentum. It stays neutral on the stock and cuts its target price by 16% to A$1.80/share. Shares ended last week at A$1.73. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

2237 GMT - Neuren Pharmaceuticals is upgraded to buy from hold by Jefferies following Acadia's expansion of rights to trofinetide beyond North America and its acquisition of global rights to Neuren's NNZ-2591 in Rett syndrome and Fragile X syndrome. "We believe this deal signals a strong vote of confidence from Acadia for the potential of trofinetide, and NNZ-2591," analyst David Stanton says in a note. Jefferies now estimates sales of around US$760 million in 2030 for trofinetide in the U.S., with tiered royalties (10% escalating to 15%) to be received by Neuren. It forecasts Neuren's FY 2023 net profit to be around A$235 million, boosted by payments from Acadia. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2227 GMT - Endeavour loses a bull in Jefferies as regulatory risk intensifies. In a note, analyst Michael Simotas says the weekend announcement by the Victorian state government that it will overhaul electronic gaming machines regulations adds material uncertainty to the stock. "We had thought the regulatory backdrop de-risked post the change of New South Wales government and did not expect Victoria to lead regulatory change," Simotas says. The Ebit impact is difficult to quantify, Jefferies says. "But gaming's high margin and low variable cost means any revenue reduction would cause substantial op deleverage," Jefferies says, moving to hold from buy. "We still expect retail margin strength with upside from Pinnacle but the Hotel investment opportunity is now less clear and with earnings risk we can no longer advocate buying the stock." (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2217 GMT - Northern Star is likely to miss annual cost guidance, although it will be close, reckons Ord Minnett. Underpinning that view is an expectation that Northern Star's Pogo gold-mining operation in Alaska didn't recover sufficiently from the failure of the ball mill motor earlier in the year, which took several weeks to repair. In a note, analyst Paul Kaner says June quarter output at Pogo likely rebounded 33% quarter-over-quarter. Still, he projects the asset will miss the lower end of production guidance by 17%, and cost guidance by 2%. At the group level, Northern Star's FY 2023 all-in sustaining costs are likely to total A$1,764/oz compared to guidance of A$1,730-A$1,760/oz, he says. Ord Minnett forecasts annual group output of 1.563 million oz versus guidance of 1.56 million-1.68 million oz. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2207 GMT - Ord Minnett is cautiously optimistic about the upcoming June quarter production reports from Australian coal miners. Drier conditions in Queensland and New South Wales over the past three months provide a degree of comfort. "We expect Stanmore's strong performance to continue, Coronado to rebound following a disappointing 1Q and Whitehaven to achieve guidance," analyst Paul Kaner says in a note. "However, our confidence is somewhat tempered by indications of logistical issues from our industry contacts and other sources, which could potentially weigh on sales and cash flow results." Ord Minnett says metallurgical coal is its preferred exposure, citing strong longer-term demand drivers for steel. Stanmore is its top pick among coal equities. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires