Azzet reports on three stocks with price moving updates today.
Premier Investments up on strategic update ~
Shares in Premier Investments (ASX: PMV) were trading 1% higher by 1:30 pm AEDT (2:30 am GMT) after the market reacted favourably to the retail conglomerate's mixed bag half year result.
At face value, it looks as if investors are looking beyond the conglomerate's reported a 0.5% decline in retail sales to $452.8 million – which missed expectations – and focused on a significant leadership reshuffle and a strategic dividend.
Net profit after tax of $101.7 million slightly exceeded analyst expectations and allowed the company to declare a fully franked interim dividend, after skipping one last year due to its demerger and capital return.
A payout of 45 cents per share, based on its last close price, represents a generous 3.6% dividend yield.
A 4.9% increase in Peter Alexander sales to $312.3 million was offset by a 10.7% decline in Smiggle sales to $140.5 million, due to an 8.7% reduction in store numbers to 282 as the brand continues its focus on operational efficiencies.
However, the market clearly liked the conglomerate's efforts to address this decline, with the chairman of Premier Investments, Solomon Lew, vowing a return to growth at the children’s stationery brand next year under new CEO, Georgia Chewing.
Following a major review, management expects to reclaim the 6-12 year core customer market through innovative product, marketing and visual merchandising, utilising Smiggle's existing multichannel formats to drive sustainable sales and profit growth.
Commenting on today’s update, Solomon Lew told the market that the board is keen to see key brands operate with the speed and agility required to keep pace with consumer trends and spending volatility.
“The Brand’s priorities in the second half are driving further engagement from a loyal customer base and continuing local and global expansion of the brand footprint,” he said.
“The strategic review has quickly identified growth opportunities available to Smiggle, and we will be working on product repositioning, simplification and brand elevation over the second half and beyond with a clear plan to bring this brand back to growth in FY27.”
Key 1H numbers announced today include:
- Underlying Premier Retail EBIT came in at $119.3 million, in line with its guidance.
- Total revenue of $460.3 million, down 1%.
- Retail brand 26.4% EBIT margin and 66.9% gross margin.
- $360.1 million cash on balance sheet.
- $105.2 million inventory, down 1.9% on the previous period.
During the half, four new Peter Alexander stores were opened, and four were either expanded or relocated with further investment in fit-out and customer experience.
Management has flagged over 15 further opportunities for both new and larger format stores in existing markets to better showcase a wider product offering.
While Smiggle's struggles are expected to continue in the near term, a return to growth is expected in FY27, and a strong second half is expected for the Peter Alexander brand, with its performance ahead of expectations after the first seven weeks.
The board has confirmed a 12-month on-market share buyback of up to $100 million, announced in December 2025.
Management expects full-year FY26 underlying earnings before interest and tax of around $183 million.
Premier Investments has a market cap of $2.1 billion; the share price is down 36% in one year and up 8% in the last week.
The stock’s shares appear to be weak with little demand from investors.
Consensus is Moderate Buy.
Electro Optic Systems tanks following insider selldown
Shares in Electro Optic Systems (ASX: EOS) were trading around 5.2% lower, with the market clearly taking a dim view of decisions by the drone technology company’s CEO Andreas Schwer and CFO Clive Cuthill to sell down major personal holdings in a planned divestment.
Having watched the share price of listed drone technology rival DroneShield (ASX: DRO) tank following the recent selldown by CEO Oleg Vornik and two other directors of around $70 million worth of shares, the market could be forgiven for thinking: ‘here we go again’.
It’s understood that Schwer sold 1.5 million shares on March 19, leaving him with 1,407,211 shares worth about $13.6 million at Thursday’s closing price of $9.65.
While both executives retain holdings well above the company’s December 2025 Minimum Shareholding Policy, any major selldown by company insiders – notably management – never looks good and makes the market query what’s going on.
Admittedly, Schwer has no plans for further divestments before the next trading window in mid-April, but the market has clearly been spooked into thinking the worst after recent antics at DroneShield helped to undermine the share price.
It’s also understood that Schwer has been granted approval to offload another million shares in the near term.
Today’s selloff may well be a major overreaction, especially given that investors are valuing the stock based on its expected future growth rather than current earnings.
The company’s order book has expanded rapidly and, at the last count, has more than $400 million in orders, up 238% from 2024.
Revelations that the company generated $128 million in revenue in FY25 point to multiple years of potential revenue already contracted, based on the state of the current order book.
Electro Optic Systems has a market cap of $1.7 billion; the share price is up 603% in one year and up 23% in the last month.
The share price more than doubled between 13 February and 13 March, but has since been bouncing lower.
The stock appears to be in a strong bullish trend, confirmed by multiple indicators.
Consensus is Strong Buy.
29Metals tick up as Morgan's initiates with Buy
Trading around 0.6% higher this afternoon following major capital restructuring and persistent operational setbacks, Morgan’s has initiated coverage on 29Metals (ASX:29M) with a Buy and 12-month price target of $0.54, which represents a 40% discount to the copper-focused miner’s current price.
Due to restricted access to high-grade ore, 29Metals was forced to withdraw its full-year zinc production guidance for 2025/2026, substituting it with lower-grade ore sources.
Following these production issues, and January’s $150 million capital raise - at a deep discount of $0.40 per share - analysts at Jefferies downgraded the stock to "Underperform" (from Hold), citing ongoing execution risks and valuation concerns.
Adding broader negative market sentiment for metal stocks generally was the stronger US$ and a recent pullback in global zinc prices, which hit a 7-week low on March 18, 2026.
However, what’s driving Morgan’s positive outlook on the miner is the expected restart of high-grade ore mining at the Xantho Extended zone and the development of Gossan Valley at the Golden Grove mine in WA, in April 2026, to restore grades and improve operational flexibility.
It’s understood that 2026 production guidance is set at 20–24kt Copper and 40–50kt Zinc.
While the stock has suffered two consecutive flooding events at its Capricorn mine in Queensland in 2023 and 2024, which tanked the stock, Morgans expects a potential restart of this operation to provide medium term production growth.
Despite the massive equity dilution, following the recent $150 million capital raise, Morgans believes the stock is now better positioned to execute its plans, with upside supported by a constructive long-term copper outlook.
Late last month, the miner reported FY25 revenue of $567 million (2024: $551 million), up 3%, and a substantial increase in Golden Grove earnings to $178 million, despite interruptions to mining of high-grade ore sources at Xantho Extended.
Commenting on the FY25 result, CEO James Palmer told the market that over the near term, the asset quality of Golden Grove will become even more apparent as capital expenditures reduce substantially post 2026 and the mine plan is optimised with the two highest grade ore sources, Xantho Extended and Gossan Valley, feeding the mill.
“At Capricorn Copper, the team continued to make excellent progress towards a successful and sustainable future restart of production, with progress made on an application for a new Tailings Storage Facility and substantial water level reductions achieved through 2025,” he said.
“Excellent progress through 2025 provides the confidence to undertake a Restart Definitive Feasibility Study through 2026 to further progress the asset towards a restart decision.”
29Metals has a market cap of $567 million; the share price is up 85% in one year and down 14% in the last week.
The stock’s shares appear to be in a near-term downtrend, confirmed by the relationship between the 5 and 20-day moving averages.
Consensus is Hold.
This article does not constitute financial or product advice. You should consider independent advice before making financial decisions.
