0012 GMT - Xero is seen by Jarden analysts as the Australia-listed tech or telco company with the most to gain in the near term from a reduction in employee costs. With logistics-software provider WiseTech axing more than a quarter of its staff on AI-driven efficiencies, the Jarden analysts take a look at possible impacts of similar potential moves elsewhere. They say accounting-software provider Xero could boost forecast fiscal 2027 earnings by 27% if its employee costs fell 10%. For comparison, employment marketplace operator Seek's forecast fiscal 2027 earnings would rise 14% and vehicle advertiser CAR Group's by just 4.2%. Xero is Jarden's top ASX-listed tech pick, with a A$150 target price and buy rating. Shares are up 5.1% at A$88.14. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
2344 GMT - Morgan Stanley analysts see their suggestion that Life360's new pet tracker could attract an additional one million subscribers as increasingly realistic. The MS analysts, who floated the scenario last year, observe that users have already registered five million pets with the location-app provider. With the company prepared and able to subsidize tracking devices, the MS analysts write in a note that their scenario is now "very realistic". They caution that Life360 is optimizing its model and expansion over a long time horizon but see a willingness to push for dominance that helps support a continued overweight rating. MS has a A$50.00 target price on Life360's Australia-listed stock, which is up 0.4% at A$21.62. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
2332 GMT - Surging refining margins due to the Iran conflict might provide a meaningful tailwind for both Ampol and Viva Energy in 1H, Macquarie says. Refining margins are higher on perceived risk and by Iran targeting facilities in the Middle East, with 550,000 barrels/day temporarily offline at Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura plant. "Adding further upward pressure to margins, China's government is imposing a ban on the export of diesel and gasoline by state-owned enterprises during the current Strait of Hormuz crisis (despite having 4-5 months of strategic reserves cover)," Macquarie says. Its price target on Ampol rises 11% to A$36.00/share. Viva Energy's price target is unchanged at A$2.70/share by Macquarie, which has outperform calls on both stocks. Ampol is up 1.2% at A$32.45 and Viva Energy is 3.4% higher at A$2.14 today. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
The best-performing Australian tech and telecommunications stocks belong to those companies showing that they are using AI to lower costs or raise revenues, Macquarie analysts say. They point out that enterprise-software provider Technology One, logistics-software developer WiseTech Global and telecommunications operator Telstra are the only companies to see their market capitalizations rise on the announcement of their most recent financial results. Every other stock they cover fell, they write in a note. It seems clear to them that, for stocks to re-rate, companies must prove that they their risk of AI disruption is limited and that AI can provide economic value. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
2250 GMT - Further supply disruptions stemming from the Iran conflict are likely to benefit Woodside Energy more than Santos when driving prices of liquefied natural gas higher, Citi says. Asian LNG prices have surged since hostilities began. The Japan Korea Marker, a key pricing benchmark, has risen above US$20/mmbtu as incentive pricing attempts to attract cargoes to replace impacted volumes, analyst Tom Wallington highlights. "We estimate Woodside's hub-linked LNG exposure to be 27% in 1H, seasonally lower than the 30% guided for 2026 but still higher than Santos's 17% gas hub exposure," Citi says. Woodside's share price ended Thursday at A$30.45, hovering close to a two-year high. Santos ended at A$7.32.(david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
2234 GMT - The latest commentary by competitors of Nufarm supports Bell Potter's buy call on the crop-chemicals supplier. "Recent peer reporting has highlighted continued margin recovery, with trade flows indicating a solid level of inventory rebuild ahead of major selling windows," analyst Jonathan Snape says. Bell Potter expects Nufarm's 1H to show a continuation of the margin recovery story that became evident in 2H of FY 2025 in its crop protection business. It also expects a material turnaround in Omega-3 earnings. "The foundations for 2H selling windows look positive with the potential for prolonged Middle East conflict to elevate crop protection pricing," the bank adds. It retains a A$3.60/share price target on Nufarm, which ended Thursday at A$2.09. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
2220 GMT - Boss Energy needs record 4Q output if it's to achieve annual guidance of 1.6 million pounds of U3O8, a common compound of uranium. That's after rain restricted access to its Honeymoon mine in South Australia, temporarily halting supplies of reagents and other goods needed for production. Boss forecasts 240,000-270,000 lbs of uranium in 3Q. To achieve its guidance, Boss needs to produce 488,000-518,000 lbs in 4Q, Jefferies says. It retains a hold call on Boss and A$1.60/share price target. Boss ended Thursday at A$1.74. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
2143 GMT - Jefferies retains an underperform call on Deep Yellow as the aspiring uranium miner pushes back a decision on whether to build its Tumas mine in Namibia. Deep Yellow now aims to make a final investment decision on Tumas in the second half of 2026. That assumes market conditions support it. Analyst Daniel Roden expects FID to happen between October and December. "We believe Deep Yellow's valuation fully prices in its project portfolio without adequately reflecting the execution and market risks," Jefferies says. Its price target lifts 19% to A$2.20/share. Deep Yellow ended Thursday at A$2.46. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 05, 2026 23:01 ET (04:01 GMT)
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