Shares in Ora Banda Mining Ltd (ASX: OBM) have appreciated by more than 56% over the past 12 months but at least two brokers believe the stock still has a way to run.

The analyst teams at both Macquarie and UBS have bullish share price targets on the company which we’ll get to shortly.

Firstly let’s look at why they’ve recently published research reports on the company.

Strong fourth quarter production meets guidance

Ora Banda earlier this week published its quarterly production report which showed the company produced a record 39,552 ounces of gold during the June quarter to meet its full year guidance target.

The company said it had closing cash at the end of the quarter of $267.7 million with total available liquidity of $468 million including an undrawn $200 million debt facility.

The company had also during the quarter launched its “Drive to 300” initiative which is a multi-year target to increase production to 300,000 ounces of gold per year.

Ora Banda Managing Director Luke Creagh said of the result:

Another transformational year for Ora Banda is a credit to the exceptional work of our teams who achieved records across nearly every metric as well as set ting up the Company to deliver outstanding value creation with the launch of our ‘DRIVE to 300’ Project. Our organic growth strategy continues to gain momentum, with material increases in Resources and Reserves, and operating cashflows continuing to strengthen the balance sheet . The business has more than $468 million of liquidity to fund capital projects as we target a doubling of production and a step-change down in unit costs by FY29.

Ora Banda’s production guidance for the current year is 125,000-140,000 ounces of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of $3400-$3600. Last year’s production result was 140,949 ounces.

The company added:

Production is expected to be weighted towards the first half of FY27, with production supplemented by third-party processing through to October 2026 . Post October, the Company will commence building ore stockpiles ahead of commissioning of the new processing facility.

Ora Banda intends to spend $425 million in growth capital this year.                                                                                                           

Brokers this this ASX gold stock is going cheap

UBS said it had lowered its price target on the company due to higher capital expenditure and lower estimated earnings.

The broker’s price target for Ora Banda shares is now $1.45, down from $1.60, compared to the current price of $1.

Macquarie’s price target on the shares is $1.30.

The broker said:

OBM is firmly in its growth phase growing production from 141koz in FY26 to >300koz in FY29 by using its balance sheet (liquidity of A$468m) and internal cash flows to fund it.

The post This ASX gold stock could jump by 45% brokers say appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Cameron England 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 Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Lithium shares have had another turbulent year to date, with the analyst team at Morgans noting that ASX lithium company share prices ran up as prices peaked in May, and have subsequently fallen back.

ASX lithium shares in focus

Three major broking houses in Morgans, UBS, and Macquarie have issued research notes on the lithium sector this week, with UBS saying they expect Australian lithium companies to generate strong cash flow over the June quarter, “as stronger realised lithium prices drive robust margins”.

They added:

With lithium prices recovering sharply since mid-CY25, producers have moved quickly to revisit and accelerate growth initiatives, although we believe the market is underestimating the capital required to deliver the next expansion phase. Concerns build around rising battery inventories, weak China NEV sales, an accelerating / uncertain supply response, though we continue to believe the market fundamentals remain strong and remain overweight lithium.

Macquarie notes that there remains limited visibility of the expansion of the major Chinese producer Jianxiawo and, therefore, its effect on the market.

Macquarie said they see significant uncertainty around the supply and demand outlook for CY27.

They added:

While future supply additions are highly visible, we believe the market may be underestimating project delays, commissioning risks and ramp-up challenges.

Which ASX lithium shares do the experts like?

Macquarie’s top pick in the sector is IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO), with a price target of $10.50.

Other companies it had assigned an outperform rating to include PLS Group Ltd (ASX: PLS), PMET Ltd (ASX: PMT), Elevra Lithium Ltd (ASX: ELV), Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR), Wildcat Resources Ltd (ASX: WC8), and Global Lithium Ltd (ASX: GL1).

In contrast, Morgans has a hold recommendation on PLS shares, preferring Liontown Resources, which it has an accumulate rating on and a price target of $1.70 on, compared to $1.36 currently.

Morgans also has an accumulate rating on Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN), with a $68 price target compared to $56.65 currently.

UBS also has a neutral rating on PLS shares, and buys on IGO, Liontown, PMET, and Elevra.

Morgans noted that the recent pullback in lithium prices was likely a short-term correction.

They added:

We see this recent sell-off as the market pricing in a step-change in near-term supply, not an expectation that the commodity is going to experience a severe sell off and enter another downcycle. Rather, we think investors have concluded that the probability of another leg is now considerably lower, given the CATL and Zimbabwe supply catalysts, plus incremental Australian supply coming back online. In our view, the equity rally through 1Q/2Q26 pushed several names ahead of what we’d consider fair value on a through-cycle price deck, and this correction is best read as a re-rating back toward more appropriate valuations, not a loss of confidence in sector fundamentals.   

The post What are the top picks in the ASX lithium sector right now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Cameron England 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 Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

Shares in Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) are trading higher after a research report from Macquarie teased the idea of the oil and gas major being a takeover target.

US major rumoured to be on the hunt

The research report issued on Friday morning argued that the Strait of Hormuz crisis has de-rated Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) assets for now, and arguably permanently.

Macquarie said this could mean there is more pressure for mergers and acquisitions in the LNG space, “making Woodside a viable target”.

The broker is arguing that consolidation in the energy sector will continue, and notes that Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM) missed out on buying assets in Guyana 12 months ago.

Quoting Bloomberg as a source, Macquarie writes that ExxonMobil is “screening LNG acquisitions including Woodside”.

They added:

With US shale consolidations done and opportunities maturing, international deals make sense again, particularly in the LNG segment (post Strait of Hormuz).

Woodside is an attractive candidate, they said, with its M&A strategy over the past five years building a company that aligned strategically with what ExxonMobil would be after.

Macquarie said ExxonMobil would have to bring an attractive offer to the table, adding, “In our view, a meaningful premium that would be much harder to deliver as a standalone entity could increase the likelihood of board engagement”.

Hurdles to the deal could be board reluctance and the company’s large retail shareholder base, Macquarie said.

Woodside Energy shares looking like a good buy

The broker has raised its price target on Woodside shares by 9% to $32.80 per share, and if a 20% weighting for M&A activity was included, this would rise to $38.50.

Woodside shares are currently changing hands for $30.29, up 2.7% on the day. The company is valued at $56.06 billion.

RBC Capital Markets is also a fan of the stock, saying in a research note earlier this week that Woodside was its top large-cap pick in the energy sector, “based on its strong longer-term growth profile, and potential to generate more near-term higher priced gas hub sales and LNG trading volumes due to the Middle East conflict”.

They added:

Woodside’s 2Q sales revenue is expected to be supported by higher crude and … commodity pricing, despite production volumes being affected by the Pluto LNG project scheduled turnaround. We expect the volatile pricing environment to create opportunity for relatively high gas hub sales and LNG trading volumes quarter on quarter. Woodside’s production growth outlook remains highly attractive, with Scarborough (Pluto LNG T-2) on stream by the end of 2026, followed by Trion oil in 2028 and Louisiana LNG in 2029.

RBC has a price target of $34.50 on Woodside shares.

The post Could Woodside Energy be a takeover target? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Cameron England 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 Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Macquarie Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.