Lion Industries raised to 'market perform'

Stock Name: LIONIND
Company Name: LION INDUSTRIES CORPORATION

Research House: RHB

Price Call: HOLD

Target Price: 1.28

RHB Research raised the call on steel manufacturer Lion Industries Corporation Berhad to "market perform" from "underperform" based on demand from the local Malaysian sector and an easing of cost pressure.

In a note to investors on Friday, RHB also raised the fair value of Lion Industries to RM1.28 from RM1.12, citing the chances for the company to exit a high-risk RM3.2 billion blast furnace project with the entrance of foreign investors.

News on local steel companies Perwaja Holdings Bhd and Hiap Teck Venture Bhd potentially securing iron ore mining concessions may also increase share prices within the sector, RHB said.

"We continue to hold the view that sustained share price performance of local steel players still hinges on a much more stable and improved global economic outlook," said the research house. -- Reuters

Scaling New Heights

Stock Name: HUAYANG
Company Name: HUA YANG BHD

Research House: TA

Price Call: BUY

Target Price: 3.03

Stronger Than Expected Profit on Better Margin

Stock Name: BAT
Company Name: BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (M)

Research House: TA

Price Call: SELL

Target Price: 55.61

Reprieve from Fuel Compensation

Stock Name: TENAGA
Company Name: TENAGA NASIONAL BHD

Research House: TA

Price Call: BUY

Target Price: 8.32

BAT up on bullish Q2 performance

Stock Name: BAT
Company Name: BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO (M)

Research House: ALLIANCE

Price Call: SELL

Target Price: 49.60

KUALA LUMPUR: British American Tobacco (M) Bhd's (BAT)share price rose by RM1.18, or 2.08 per cent, to RM57.90 as at 11.55 am today after announcing a bullish second-quarter performance.

HwangDBS Vickers Research Sdn Bhd said the cigarette manufacturer's second-quarter net income grew by 20 per cent year-on-year to RM220.8 million, mainly attributed to higher percentage of sales mix from contract manufacturing which offered better margins.

BAT has declared a second interim dividend of 65 sen for the quarter, it said.

"We raise net profit forecast by eight per cent to RM776.2 million for financial year 2012 and 10 per cent to RM826.7 million for financial year 2013 on higher industry volume at 13.2 billion sticks from 13.2 billion previously and better margins from contract manufacturing," it said in a research note
today.

HwangDBS Vickers has maintained a 'hold' on the stock at RM56.72.

Meanwhile, Alliance Research Sdn Bhd said BAT's strong performance was also contributed by lower operating costs due to timing difference of marketing expenditure, lower distribution costs as well as the absence of merchandising depreciation.

"Going forward, the management expects illicit trade to stabilise at current level if the federal government maintains its excise duty for cigarettes in the coming budget," it said in a note.

Alliance Research has raised the target price of the stock to RM49.60 and maintained its 'sell' call. -- BERNAMA

MIDF ups Star target price to RM3.70

Stock Name: STAR
Company Name: STAR PUBLICATIONS (M) BHD

Research House: MIDF

Price Call: BUY

Target Price: 3.70

MIDF Research raised Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd's target price to RM3.70 from RM3.50 per share citing positive impact of the media company's latest acquisition of an event management firm.

"We view positively this latest acquisition and believe that it is a good move as the company strives to diversify its income source. It will complement its existing print, radio and tv businesses," the research house said in a note on Friday.

Maintaining 'buy' on the counter, MIDF said the new acquisition will moderate the secular decline in the newsprint industry.

Star said yesterday that it acquired CNM Events Marketing SDN BHD for 45 million ringgit ($14.27 million).

Star shares pared early gains and were flat by 11.03 am (0303 GMT). -- Reuters

SapuraKencana advances on 'buy' rating

Stock Name: SKPETRO
Company Name: SAPURAKENCANA PETROLEUM BHD

Research House: Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Price Call: BUY

Target Price: 3.06

SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd, an oil and gas services provider, advanced 4.7 per cent to RM2.45, poised for a record close.

The stock was newly rated buy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch with a price estimate of RM3.06, Wee Lee Chong, an analyst, wrote in a report dated July 18. - Bloomberg

Highway widening win

Stock Name: WCT
Company Name: WCT BHD

Research House: ALLIANCE

Price Call: TRADING BUY

Target Price: 3.10

Moving in the Right Direction

Stock Name: BURSA
Company Name: BURSA MALAYSIA BHD

Research House: TA

Price Call: HOLD

Target Price: 6.95

Challenging the Pinnacles

Stock Name: SENDAI
Company Name: EVERSENDAI CORPORATION BERHAD

Research House: TA

Price Call: BUY

Target Price: 2.26

A Strong Start to FY13

Stock Name: HUAYANG
Company Name: HUA YANG BHD

Research House: TA

Price Call: BUY

Target Price: 3.03

Bursa upgraded at Credit Suisse

Stock Name: BURSA
Company Name: BURSA MALAYSIA BHD

Research House: CREDIT SUISSE

Price Call: TRADING BUY

Target Price: 7.28

Bursa Malaysia Bhd, the country's exchange operator, gained 2.3 percent to RM6.66 in Kuala Lumpur trading at 9.37am, bound for its highest close since May 14.

The stock was upgraded to "outperform" at Credit Suisse Group AG with a price estimate of RM8, Arjan van Veen, an analyst, wrote in a report today.

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd raised its rating to "trading buy" from "neutral" with a price estimate of RM7.28, according to a report today. -- Bloomberg

Proposed Acquisition of GMP Medicare

Stock Name: TOPGLOV
Company Name: TOP GLOVE CORPORATION BHD

Research House: TA

Price Call: BUY

Target Price: 6.20

Narrowing the Gap

Stock Name: AFFIN
Company Name: AFFIN HOLDINGS BHD

Research House: TA

Price Call: BUY

Target Price: 4.40

RHB ups Top Glove fair value

Stock Name: TOPGLOV
Company Name: TOP GLOVE CORPORATION BHD

Research House: RHB

Price Call: TRADING BUY

Target Price: 5.71

RHB Research raised its fair value on Top Glove Corp to RM5.71 per share from RM5.64 after the world's largest rubber glove maker by volume said that it was buying a smaller rival for RM24.1 million.

"We are positive on the acquisition as the acquisition is in line with the group's expansion plan of increasing its global market share to 30 percent from 25 percent currently, over the next three years," the research house said in a note on Wednesday.

Maintaining its "trading buy" rating on the stock, RHB said the acquisition would add about 570 million pieces per annum to Top Glove's existing capacity of 38.5 billion pieces and would add to its earnings from the financial year ending August 2013 onwards.

"While the additional capacity arising from the acquisition is relatively small, we note that there is still an additional 8 acres of vacant land on the site, which can be used for further capacity expansion," RHB added.

By 9.30am, the counter rose 0.37 percent to RM5.45 per share, outperforming the Malaysia's benchmark stock index's 0.27 percent rise. -- Reuters

OSK keeps 'buy' call on MSC

Malaysia Smelting Corp Bhd's (MSC) closed unchanged today on Bursa Malaysia today despite reports its unit, PT Koba Tin, may not get the extension of contract of works (COW) from the Indonesian government.

As at 5 pm, MSC share price was flat at RM3.78.

OSK Research Sdn Bhd said the news has raised investor concern on its bottomline despite the company's announcement it has not received any notification from Indonesia's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources on the status of its application.

In a note today, OSK said MSC has taken the necessary measure, including entering into a strategic alliance agreement with a local company, Optimus Synergy Resources Ltd, to assist in the application.

"Therefore, we are still hopeful that MSC stands a fair chance in securing the COW extension," it said.

Moving forward, OSK said, MSC would continue to search for other tin-rich deposits in Malaysia as well as overseas.

It has maintained a 'buy' call on MSC with fair value at RM5.50 based on the company's sound and solid fundamentals with the right strategies taken to strengthen its position and relatively cheap valuation compared to its closest peers. -- Bernama

3Q12 Results Preview - Setting the Right Tone

Stock Name: TENAGA
Company Name: TENAGA NASIONAL BHD

Research House: TA

Price Call: BUY

Target Price: 7.70

Update Report

Stock Name: REDTONE
Company Name: REDTONE INTERNATIONAL BHD

Research House: NETRESEARCH

Price Call: BUY

Target Price: 0.42

4G LTE infrastructure Sharing with Redtone

Stock Name: MAXIS
Company Name: MAXIS BERHAD

Research House: TA

Price Call: BUY

Target Price: 7.21

Earnings Growth Prospects Remain Strong

Stock Name: HUAYANG
Company Name: HUA YANG BHD

Research House: TA

Price Call: BUY

Target Price: 2.42