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Buy, hold, sell: Echo IQ, Bluescope Steel, Lovisa shares

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S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares are 0.8% lower at 8,691.8 points on Thursday.

Here are some new expert recommendations on three ASX stocks.

Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV)

The Lovisa share price is steady at $24.52 today, and down 36% over 12 months. 

Bell Potter upgraded this ASX consumer discretionary share from hold to buy.

The broker kept its price target at $27.

Analyst Chami Ratnapala said: 

While we remain cautious on the current weak consumer landscape and investments into market share & store refits to mitigate competitive pressures in key markets, we see a higher tolerance re accessibility from a low price point perspective together with a strong gross margin.

Post the market sell-off, we think the current valuation at ~22x FY27e P/E (BPe) which is a ~20% discount to LOV’s recent mid-cycle P/E as BPe of 28.5x appears attractive, and we upgrade our recommendation to BUY.

BlueScope Steel Ltd (ASX: BSL)

The Bluescope share price is $30.44, up 1.4% today and up 35% over 12 months. 

Andrew Wielandt from DP Wealth Advisory has a hold rating on this ASX 200 materials share. 

Wielandt said (courtesy The Bull):  

BlueScope delivered a strong result in full year 2026. Underlying earnings before interest and tax increased to $1.273 billion, supported by stronger US steel production, margins and a record Southeast Asian performance.

Management delivers disciplined cost management. We expect free cash flow to improve and and support total shareholder returns.

However, BSL remains a cyclical business. Despite the business performing well, the operating environment remains volatile, which is behind our hold recommendation.

Echo IQ Ltd (ASX: EIQ)

The Echo IQ share price is 69 cents, up 7% today and up 260% over 12 months. 

Bell Potter downgraded this ASX tech share from speculative hold to speculative sell.

The broker slashed its 12-month price target from $1.75 to 30 cents.

Analyst John Hester said:

The company’s 510(k) application for registration of EchoSolv HF has been rejected by the FDA.

The agency issued a detailed ‘Not Substantially Equivalent’ notice which describes the reasons for its decision.

The company revealed little regarding the contents of the NSE and only highlighted disagreement on matters of statistical
analysis.

EIQ intends to hold further dialogue with the Agency in order to determine if there is a path forward, hence it created an expectation for a future approval either via a resubmission of the 510(k) or alternative registration pathway.

The post Buy, hold, sell: Echo IQ, Bluescope Steel, Lovisa shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Lovisa. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Lovisa. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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