ASX

ASX (ASX) has a share price target of $40.00 from Australian Stockmarket analyst Macquarie Research Equities.

ASX (ASX) Sell in May and go away?

Event: May volumes continue to be weak, but actually up sequentially:

May volumes continued weak pcp outcomes, but improved from April, which may prove to be a trough. Data showed (avg daily): (1) cash market value $5.7bn, dn 8% on pcp (2) cash market trades 418k, up 67% (3) options contracts 77k, dn 27% (4) futures contracts 248k, dn 13% (5) capital raisings $2.8bn vs. $7.9bn pcp.

ASX (ASX) has a share price target of $50.02 which represents upside of over 50% and an Outperform recommendation from Australian stockmarket analysts from Macquarie Research Equities (MRE).

ASX (ASX) In The City

The current environment of uncertain market conditions and a surge in the volatility of Aussie stocks has had a number of implications for the ASX Limited (ASX. In todays note, Macquarie Research Equities (MRE) reviews the activity statistics for April and highlight a few positives to backup the positive outlook for the company.

Macquarie Research Equities (MRE) reviews the monthly change data for ASX limited (ASX) and reaffirms their counselling for the stock.

ASX Limited (ASX): Rolling with the Punches

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) have an Outperform recommendation and a 12 month share price target of $50.46 from Australian sharemarket analyst Macquarie Research.

ASX: Where is it Heading?

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) remains the preferred exposure from stock analyst Macquarie Research Equities among the diversified financial sector. This reflects significant upside relative to the analysts' 12 month price target of $62.21.

ASX Limited has a share price target of $52.80 and a Neutral recommendation from Australian stock market analyst UBS. Australian securities regulator ASIC has completed its initial consultation on licence applications from potential niche competitors AXE ECN and Liquidnet in late August. ASIC has announced that it will now publish a response document in October 2007 vs. expectations for a formal recommendation to the Federal Minister in mid-September. The need for clarity around the appropriate "rules for competition" may lead to substantial regulatory or policy changes. A Federal election also poses an obstacle, potentially deferring or interfering with a Ministerial decision. This implies that competition, if any, appears unlikely until into CY 2008. Tha analyst has recognised some issues to include: (1) relevance and prescription of pre and post trade transparency for 'internalised' order flow (2) downstream implications on supervisory/regulatory structure, including potential centralisation (3) relevance of overseas market structures and experience to the Australian marketplace. This is by no means a permanent outcome for ASX. However it will likely result in a more manageable and prescriptive shift in market structure, an incremental positive in our view. Read a previous ASX Limited Update.

ASX Limited has a Neutral 2 recommendation and a share price target of $52.80 from Australian Stock Exchange analyst UBS. June 2007 volumes close off another record year: June volumes showed an acceleration of recent growth rates. On a daily avg basis: Cash market turnover was up 60% on pcp at $7.2bn p/day; Cash market trades increased 92%. Futures contract volumes increased 29%; Options increased 24%. Modest net upgrades on turnover and volumes: Including the effect of ASX's one-off additional $8.5m rebate in 2H07, we upgrade FY07E by nearly 5%. This largely flows through to FY08E given rebate structures in cash and futures markets. In addition, a more slightly optimistic (but still cautious) view on capital raisings activity within listings revenue adds an increment to FY08E earnings for 6% total upgrade. ASX positioning as a 'defensive growth' stock: The analysts' recent scenario analysis highlighted ASX as likely providing double-digit (or better) earnings growth under a range of flat or negative volume growth outcomes. Upside leverage to market activity growth is muted by the 75% incremental rebate to customers (25% to shareholders). However, with a CTI ratio in the high 20’s shareholders still benefit from significant operating leverage. New DCF-based price target $52.80, Neutral 2: PT = DCF x (1+WACC) – dividends. Positives for ASX Limited: (1) defensive revenue, with ~$60m of rebates in FY07E (2) strong operating environment (3) low capital intensity. Risks from the Australian Stock Exchange: (1) clearing capital demands (2) listings capital raisings cycle a revenue risk (3) still some technology capex to come.