APA Group extends rally after upgrades by UBS and Jarden
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The news: Shares in APA Group shares surged after UBS and Jarden made upgrades to the natural gas infrastructure business, following its half-year result on Monday.
The numbers: APA shares were up 6.5% to $7.58 at 2pm AEDT, after closing 7.7% higher on Monday.
The market's second largest utilities company also helped pull the sector to a 1.6% gain as the ASX 200 index fell 0.6%.
The context: UBS upgraded its rating on APA from 'sell' to 'neutral' and lifted its price target from $6.60 to $7. Analysts said the upgrade was driven by the "significant de-rating" that APA has seen, now trading at a "significant premium" to its historical yield spread.
Jarden retained its 'overweight' rating and lifted its price target from $8.30 to $8.50. Its analysts noted that the "key positive" from APA's interim result was the company's reassurance that it could internally fund its $1.8 billion organic growth programme over the next three years.
The sources: Jarden research, UBS research
