Investors aren't letting any dips go to waste. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) staged a late recovery to finish the day 0.4% higher after slumping by more than 1% in the morning.
This is happening quite regularly in recent times and reinforces my belief that there's a lot of money waiting on the sidelines.
Eager buyers
The limited selection of investment alternatives to equities and fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) are supporting the market amid the COVID-19 market sell-off.
But this isn't an excuse to buy ASX shares indiscriminately. Since the ASX 200 bounced from its bear market low on March 23, many stocks have run ahead of fundamentals.
Those hunting for buying opportunities could find their targets among the latest batch of ASX shares that were just upgraded to by brokers to "buy".
Dressed for success
One potential stock for your watchlist is Kathmandu Holdings Ltd (ASX: KMD). Credit Suisse upgraded the adventure gear retailer to "outperform" from "neutral" as it believes its attractive valuation overrides the near-term uncertainties.
"While we acknowledge KMD faces a period of earnings uncertainty, we believe the strength of the company's execution during the peak of lockdown restrictions; the consumer appeal of its brands; and its robust balance sheet all underpin our confidence in the company's recovery," said the broker.
"This view is supported by our scenario analysis which highlights valuation upside under all scenarios."
Kathmandu is listed on both the ASX and the New Zealand Stock Exchange. Credit Suisse's price target on the stock is NZ$1.40 a share, which implies a more than 40% upside from Wednesday's closing price.
Beating the street
Another stock on the upgrade list is CSR Limited (ASX: CSR). Wilsons lifted its rating on the building materials group to "overweight" from "market weight" after CSR posted its full year result.
As foreshadowed in my article yesterday, brokers will be busy upgrading their earnings forecasts for the group.
"We are encouraged by the better than expected result, which highlighted market share growth and margin resilience in the Building Products segment, despite challenging construction markets," said Wilsons.
"While there is potential for some earnings volatility in Building Products due to the timing and stage of the residential construction cycle, we are confident a robust balance sheet, advanced aluminium hedging profile and an attractive property portfolio provides support."
The broker's 12-month price target on CSR is $4.87 a share, which implies a 36% upside if dividends are included.
