0454 GMT - National Australia Bank's recent share price rally and current trading multiples look hard to justify for its bears at Morgan Stanley. With an unchanged underweight rating on the stock, MS analysts point to the uncertain operating environment and the lender's weak earnings outlook. They believe that NAB's revenue growth is slowing and that it has limited flexibility on costs or capital. They suggest caution regarding NAB's credit quality in the current challenging macroeconomic environment, saying that it appears to be turning lower. MS has an unchanged target price of 34.00 Australian dollars on the stock. Shares are down 0.6% at A$39.21. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0438 GMT - REA Group's bulls at Morgan Stanley tell clients that times of cyclical weakness such as the one facing Australia's housing market are exactly when they should be buying the stock. They think the market is unnecessarily fixated on the debate over fiscal 2027 listings volumes. They acknowledge potential risks around consensus estimates, but tell clients in a note that the key driver of the News Corp-controlled property advertiser's longer-term earnings growth is its ability to deliver double-digit rises in price and yield. MS stays overweight on the stock and raises its target price 2.2% to 230.00 Australian dollars. Shares are up 1.3% at A$179.67. News Corp is the parent company of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0419 GMT - National Australia Bank is still a buy at UBS despite a softening in the lender's near-term profit outlook. Analysts at the investment bank trim their full-year cash profit forecast by 2.4% on slightly lower margin and volume expectations, but maintain a buy rating on the stock. They tell clients in a note that NAB's large relative exposure to business banking remains core to their thesis. They say that the 5% share-price drop that greeted the lender's third-quarter update was overdone, and that they see little evidence so far of a marked deterioration in asset quality or losses. Target price falls 3.0% to 48.50 Australian dollars. Shares are down 0.9% at A$39.11. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0400 GMT - The cost environment for miners "has shifted materially" as a result of the conflict in the Middle East, BHP says in its FY results. Higher energy prices have raised inflation across key regions, it says. In Australia, that's added to already elevated domestic inflation, says the miner. For Chile and Canada, it is reigniting pressure after inflation had started to ease back towards central-bank targets, it says. BHP notes that disruption to trade flows through the Strait of Hormuz has also put "significant upward pressure" on sulfuric acid, diesel and ammonia markets. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

0338 GMT - BlueScope Steel enters FY27 with strong earnings momentum, says Morgan Stanley. The ASX-listed steelmaker is pursuing more cost savings, and value-added growth is progressing. Meanwhile, U.S. steel spreads look supportive near term, the bank says. That said, "Asian spread assumptions are more demanding and ASP [Australian Steel Products] profitability remains subdued," it says. MS raises its target on the stock to 34.00 Australian dollars a share from A$32.35/share, and reiterates an equal-weight rating. Shares are up 1.7% at A$33.50, rebounding from a 2.2% loss on Monday. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

0216 GMT - BHP's consensus-beating annual results top off what was a very good year for the world's No. 1 miner, says Jefferies. The growth in BHP's copper earnings--to account for 54% of annual underlying Ebitda--partially justifies a rerating of BHP's equity valuation over the past year, it says. "This is an excellent set of results for BHP," the bank says. While Jefferies thinks BHP's shares could gain further in the coming six months or so, it does expect company-specific tailwinds to subside. Volumes in Chile are now expected to decline, it says, adding that the increase in Ebitda from FY 2025 to FY 2026 was almost entirely due to the impact of higher prices. Jefferies reiterates a hold rating. It has a A$65.00 target on the stock. Shares are up 3.0% at A$64.09. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

0038 GMT - For Jarden, Amplitude Energy's FY 2027 guidance was the main focus of its annual result. Amplitude signaled output of 26.6-28.5 petajoules equivalent, in line with consensus hopes at the midpoint. It reflects strong operational performance at the Orbost facility. FY 2027 capex guidance of A$250 million-A$310 million beat Jarden's estimates. Analyst Nik Burns says this is largely a timing issue. "But we estimate East Coast Supply Project total costs are now at or above the top end of the prior range," Jarden says. The next key catalyst will likely be the Juliet exploration well result, Jarden says. That well is about to be drilled. "We carry no value for this well in our valuation but could potentially add A$0.34/share upside in the success case," Jarden says. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

0034 GMT - Cochlear's expectation of FY 2027 profit growth appears to be driven by operating costs rather than sales, Jarden analysts observe. They tell clients in a note that the hearing-implant maker's guidance for 5.5% net profit growth at the range midpoint comes despite its expectation that sales revenue will only grow by a percentage in the low single digits. They tell clients in a note that the profit guidance, which is in line with analysts' expectations, is supported by a slight on-year decline in operating costs. They think that the quality of the FY 2026 result was worse than anticipated, but see the FY 2027 outlook as positive. Jarden has a last-published neutral rating on the stock and a target price of 169.00 Australian dollars. Shares are up 5.0% at A$137.80. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0033 GMT - Mall owner Region's debt strategy pleases Jarden and helps to balance a small miss to FY27 earnings guidance. "We like the fact that Region is highly hedged at favorable hedge rates, particularly at a time when most REITs are facing debt cost headwinds/gearing ticking up," analyst Carl Braganza says. Region is 83% hedged in FY27, and 66% hedged in FY28. Jarden retains a neutral call on Region, noting business fundamentals remain sound, with leasing spreads of 4% and portfolio moving annual turnover growth of 3.3%. Region forecasts funds from operations of 16.5 Australian cents/security in FY27, below consensus hopes for 16.6 cents. The stock is down 2.8% at A$2.295.(david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

0024 GMT - The composition of Cochlear's annual revenue should please investors, RBC analyst Craig Wong-Pan says. While the hearing-implant maker's FY 2026 revenue was broadly in line with consensus, Wong-Pan points out that the Australian company's implants and services units both performed more strongly than analysts had expected. This strength was partially offset by a miss from acoustics, he writes in a note. Overall, Wong-Pan expects the result to generate positive sentiment, with underlying earnings about 3% stronger than his above-consensus forecast. RBC has a last-published sector perform rating on the stock and a target price of 117.00 Australian dollars. Shares are up 2.1% at A$133.98. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0009 GMT - BHP's FY 2026 dividend beat and in-line FY 2027 guidance should be reasonably well received by the market, says RBC Capital Markets analyst James Redfern. BHP's annual payout of US$1.72 a share is its highest in four years and above Visible Alpha consensus of US$1.54 a share. "Along with the dividend, a key focus is new FY27 guidance for unit costs and capex," says Redfern. While forecast unit costs at Western Australia Iron Ore are 2% higher than consensus, projected costs at Escondida are 4% below consensus, he says. RBC has a sector perform rating and A$57.00 target on BHP shares. The stock is up 2.9% early in Sydney at A$63.97. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

2331 GMT -- Australian pharmaceutical company CSL's share price looks a good bet to outperform today, RBC Capital Markets says. CSL's FY26 underlying earnings and revenue beat expectations. "We think the market will particularly like the immunoglobulin performance with FY26 revenue growth of 4% year-over-year and 2H26 growth of 14% on-year," analyst Craig Wong-Pan says. CSL expects FY27 revenue to match the FY26 outcome. It also expects underlying profit growth of 5% when currency swings are stripped out. This implies an underlying net profit of US$2.93 billion, above consensus hopes of US$2.83 billion. "The stock has had a strong run into this result, however we expect the FY27 guidance beat to consensus and strong immunoglobulin performance in 2H26 to drive outperformance in the stock today," RBC says.