OUR QUEST IS NOT TO BE BULLISH OR BEARISH, BUT TO CORRECTLY ASSESS FUTURE TRENDS

Citi rates BEN as Upgrade to Neutral from Sell

Among positive takeaways from Bendigo & Adelaide Bank's investor update was strong confidence in cost-outs, with near-term savings plus a bigger program due in 2026, Citi notes.

Other upsides included the RACQ book deal, which is expected to be 4-5% cash-earnings accretive from FY28 and beyond, and bullishness on digital deposit growth.

The big negative was the unresolved AML/AUSTRAC overhang, where management expects substantial remediation work. The broker notes the RACQ buy has used roughly half of the bank's excess capital that might otherwise fund fixes.

FY26-27 EPS forecasts largely unchanged, and FY28 lifted by 3%. Target cut to $10.10 from $11.00 as the broker applies a -10% discount to fair value on financial risk.

Rating upgraded to Neutral from Sell, following a -20% share price drop over the last month.

Shaw and Partners rates NXL as Buy, High Risk

Nuix will acquire Linkurious for around -$35m, adding graph-powered AI capability and expanding Nuix Neo use cases, explains Shaw and Partners. The transaction will be funded via debt and existing cash reserves.

It’s thought the deal enhances the company's growth potential through cross-sell opportunity, with Linkurious contributing around $12m in annualised contract value and positive earnings and operating cash flow.

The analysts believe customer overlap will be modest at 10-20%, supporting incremental sales potential and material distribution benefits.

Shaw retains a Buy, High Risk rating and target of $3.10.

UBS rates RIO as Neutral

Rio Tinto's CEO is aiming to streamline and simplify the mining giant, with the aim of raising earnings (EBITDA) by 40-50% by 2030, assuming consensus prices.

The main factor underpinning the improvement will come from volume growth, 3% CAGR for copper equivalent, led by Oyu Tolgoi, Simandou and lithium, as well as cost savings, UBS explains.

Asset sales are anticipated to generate US$5-10bn, including Borates, iron and titanium. Management is still flagging a reduction in CO2 emissions by -50% by 2030, with decarbonisation capex to be down to US$1-2bn from US$5-6bn.

Neutral rating remains with a higher target price of $138 from $130.