ASX shares lift as Citi hikes target price
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Shares in the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) edged higher as Citi hiked its target price on the bourse operator due to improved market volumes.
The numbers: ASX shares were up 0.3% to $68.62 by 1:10pm AEDT.
Citi kept its 'neutral' rating but lifted its target price from $62.30 to $66.70. It also increased its earnings-per-share forecasts by 3% in FY26 and 2% in FY27.
The context: Citi analysts said that ASX's market volumes have been "tracking better than we initially forecast", particularly in futures.
However, they do not view this as enough to break the ASX's cycle of share price underperformance, with 2021 being the last calendar year it outperformed, particularly while the future of the IPO pipeline remains "debatable with only tentative signs of recovery".
Meanwhile, Citi warned that shareholders remain low on ASX's priorities, execution risk continues to be high as the company runs three major IT projects concurrently, and its outstanding case with the securities regulator is still "something of a deterrent".
The source: Citi research
