0446 GMT - South32 bull Morgan Stanley sees negligible change to its valuation on the miner's Hermosa project in Arizona from a site visit this week. South32's "Hermosa presentation broadly reiterates the April 2026 project update assumptions," says MS. The miner previously flagged the potential to increase production above current design rates via plant debottlenecking, says MS. "South32 expects the expansion to be achievable at low capital cost (though no capex estimate was provided)," it says. MS has an overweight rating and A$5.10/share target on the miner's stock. Shares are down 0.5% at A$4.905. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

0302 GMT - Australian banks' recent underperformance relative to global peers shouldn't be seen as a buying opportunity, Macquarie analysts warn. They tell clients in a note that, since late 2024, global bank stocks have been catching up on ASX counterparts following a period of depressed valuations. However, Australia's premium has narrowed rather than disappeared, with its banks still trading at a 50% premium to global peers on a price-to-earnings basis. The MS analysts see limited scope for Australian banks to meaningfully improve revenues, leaving cost reduction as the most credible route through which they can lift returns. Without a sustained improvement in profitability, they anticipate further compression in Australian bank valuation multiples. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0228 GMT - Tuas's bulls at Morgan Stanley see upside to the stock even if the Singapore-focused telco loses its mobile license. Having checked with industry players, MS analysts see only a low probability of regulators severely punishing Australia-listed Tuas over its breaches of license conditions. However, they think any clarity on the ultimate outcome would likely be seen positively by the market. They tell clients in a note that a benign regulatory outcome could help the stock rerate toward its historical average, while a draconian penalty could unlock the strategic value of the Australia-listed company's large subscriber base. MS has a last-published overweight recommendation on the stock and a target price of 5.00 Australian dollars. Shares are up 1.9% at A$2.14. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0109 GMT - Immutep gets a new bull at Jefferies, where analyst David Stanton sees a clearer potential development path for the biotechnology company's lead product candidate. Raising his recommendation to buy from hold, Stanton is encouraged by the Australian company's update that the early discontinuation of a lung cancer study doesn't appear to be linked to clinical factors or trial execution. Emerging evidence supports a cautiously constructive view that the outcome stemmed from an isolated manufacturing or product-characterisation issue, Stanton explains in a note to clients. Risk/reward looks more constructive to Stanton, who now includes Immutep's phase IIhead and neck squamous cell carcinoma opportunity in his valuation. Jefferies doubles its target price to 8 Australian cents. Shares are flat at 4.7 Australian cents. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

2340 GMT - Dexus's behavior around its buyback is seen by Jefferies analyst Andrew Dodds as giving mixed messages to shareholders. Dodds wonders why execution of the buyback has been so inconsistent given management's overwhelmingly positive commentary of it as a capital management tool. Dodds points out in a note to clients that the Australian real-estate operator paused the buyback ahead of its disappointing third-quarter update, and hasn't purchased stock for a week at the time of writing. The stock, which is down 20% so far in 2026, appears disconnected to net tangible assets, he adds. Jefferies has a last-published hold rating on the stock, and a target price of 5.60 Australian dollars. Shares are at A$5.55 ahead of the open.