Azzet reports on three ASX stocks with price moving updates today.
Woodside jumps after raising guidance ~
Shares in Woodside (ASX: WDS) were up 3.8% by 1:50 pm AEDT (2:50 am GMT) after the company posted an increase in quarterly production to 50.8 million barrels of oil and raised its output guidance after completing a significant asset sale.
Woodside posted quarterly production of 50.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (552 Mboe/d) for the third quarter, up 1% from the second quarter.
Quarterly sales volume of 55.0 Mmboe were up from 54.4 MMboe in the second quarter.
Following strong output across key assets, the company raised its full-year guidance to 192–197 MMboe from 188-195MMboe.
Today’s update provided a welcome breath of fresh air for long-suffering shareholders who have watched the share price bounce progressively lower from a recent high of $27.08 in late August.
Underscoring today’s update were record production volumes led by its Sangomar project - located 100km south of Dakar - and Pluto LNG, a $12 billion project processing gas from Pluto and Xena fields into LNG, located 190km north-west of Karratha.
Sangomar delivered 99,000 barrels per day (100% basis, 82,000 Woodside share), generating US$477 million in revenue, while Pluto LNG achieved 100% reliability for the quarter.
The company reported an average realised price of US$60 barrels of oil equivalent.
Meanwhile, major projects remain on track, with the Scarborough Energy Project 91% complete, targeting first LNG in the second half and the Beaumont New Ammonia Project, now as good as done, is aiming for production in late 2025.
During the quarter, the company also completed the $259 million sale of its Greater Angostura assets during the quarter.
Woodside also signed an MoU with Japan Suiso Energy and Kansai Electric to develop a liquid hydrogen supply chain from Western Australia to Japan.
Commenting on today’s update, Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill told the market that the company maintained excellent operational performance over the quarter, while efficiently executing a global portfolio of growth projects to drive long-term shareholder value.
She said that in addition to Sangomar’s exceptional performance and the outstanding reliability of its Australian assets, the agreement to assume operatorship of the Bass Strait assets further strengthens Woodside's Australian operations portfolio.
Woodside continues to progress its pipeline of global projects, having recently secured long-term LNG supply agreements with PETRONAS and BOTAŞ.
Investors will be watching upcoming milestones closely, including the fourth quarter update and Capital Markets Day in November.
Meantime, Woodside continues to trade at a significant discount to its global peers, with analysts citing its position in a growing LNG market, strategic projects like Scarborough LNG, and a compelling dividend yield as potential drivers of future growth.
Woodside has a market cap of $43 billion; the share price is down 6.5% over one year and up 2.8% in the last week.
The stock’s shares appear to be in a long-term bearish trend, confirmed by multiple indicators.
Long-term, the 200-day moving average is falling and shows that demand for this stock is low.
Consensus is Moderate Buy
Pinnacle Investment jumps on Japan deal
Shares in Pinnacle Investment Management (ASX: PNI) were up around 3.5% after the private credit provider disclosed plans to take a 13% stake in Advantage Partners, Japan’s largest independent private markets platform.
The $92 million Advantage Partners deal – considered integral to Pinnacle’s international expansion strategy - includes an initial 5% interest for $92 million, while there’s an option to acquire a further 8% over three years at a similar valuation.
Completion of the first tranche – which is being acquired from Advantage managing partners and staff through existing cash and investments - is expected in January 2026.
Pinnacle joins existing strategic partner Tokyo Century as an investor in Advantage.
It’s understood that the companies plan to enter into a Business Alliance Agreement and Distribution Services Agreement to support the global distribution of Advantage Partners’ investment strategies.
To the uninitiated, Advantage Partners is a Tokyo-based firm that manages around $US3 billion in assets.
Near-term growth is expected to more than double its funds under management to US$6.5 billion through new fundraises.
Commenting on today’s update, Pinnacle told the market that the partnership strengthens its footprint in Japan’s pension and insurance markets.
Following recent investments in U.S.-based VSS and Australian managers, including Metrics, Five V, Palisade, and Riparian, Pinnacle’s interests in Advantage Partners also align with its push into global private assets.
“We have made great progress in exporting our unique multi-affiliate model globally,” said Pinnacle's managing director Ian Macoun.
“This transaction underscores our ability to partner with world-class teams with unique platforms in highly attractive asset classes and geographies.”
As a multi-affiliate investment management firm, Pinnacle holds minority equity interests in specialist investment managers and provides them with infrastructure and distribution support.
Over the past 5 years, the company’s stock has climbed over 300% but year to date is down around 10%.
However, the stock is up 10% in the last week.
Pinnacle Investment Management Group has a market cap of $4.6 billion.
The stock’s shares appear to be in a long-term bearish trend, confirmed by multiple indicators.
Consensus is Moderate Buy.
Adairs move higher following 1H FY26 update
The market had a cartoon-like double-take to Adairs (ASX: ADH) after the Homewares group posted a 1H FY26 update this morning.
At first blush, investors didn’t like revelations that group sales were being lowered, with the share price falling at the open to $2.13 after finishing yesterday’s session at $2.18.
What clearly unnerved investors were expectations that forecast group sales for the first half would now land between $319.5 million and $331.5 million, slightly below prior guidance of $324.5 million to $336.5 million.
This is expected to be achieved with a gross margin of 59% to 59.5%, compared to its previous guidance of 58.8% to 59.6%.
However, on closer scrutiny, the market seemed to think its initial reaction was unwarranted – with the share price up over 8.7% by early afternoon.
Today’s update shouldn’t have come as any surprise to the market, given that the first half of FY26 has been largely in line with what was foreshadowed in management's commentary provided with its results in August.
Within today’s commentary, the company told the market that it remains cautiously optimistic about the trading outlook for the rest of the half, with all three businesses well stocked, and a team well prepared for the peak trading period ahead.
“Looking ahead, the next 10 weeks is the most important trading period for the half, delivering approximately 55% of sales for the half with key events like Adairs' next Linen Lover Sale Event (which commences this evening), Black Friday, Christmas, and Boxing Day sales to come,” management noted.
“The H1 result is heavily dependent on performance during these peak periods.”
The rise in the share price this morning suggests many investors are placing stronger bets on the 1H FY26 result exceeding expectations.
After an encouraging start, the company noted that sales for the Focus on Furniture brand have slowed despite ongoing promotional activity, which has led to a lower-than-planned gross profit margin.
Meanwhile, online business, Mocka, has continued its strong sales momentum in the first half, with customers continuing to respond well to new products.
The company expects Focus on Furniture sales to be between $60 million and $63 million, with margins between 50.2 and 50.7%.
The group’s Mocka brand is projected to reach between $34.5 million and $36.5 million in sales, with gross margins of 58.6 to 59.1%.
Adairs has a market cap is $418 million; the share price is up 4.4% over one year and down 17% in the last month.
The stock’s shares appear to be in a long-term bearish trend, confirmed by multiple indicators.
Long-term, the 200-day moving average is falling and shows that demand for this stock is low.
Consensus is Moderate Buy.
This article does not constitute financial or product advice. You should consider independent advice before making financial decisions.
