Australia's top brokers have been busy adjusting their estimates and recommendations again, leading to the release of a number of broker notes.
Three broker buy ratings that have caught my eye are summarised below. Here's why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:
Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)
According to a note out of Morgan Stanley, its analysts have retained their overweight rating and $159.00 price target on this payments company's shares. This follows news that Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) is launching a buy now pay later product that will come with much lower fees for merchants. Morgan Stanley doesn't appear concerned due to its belief that Afterpay has developed a moat thanks to its sales referrals and global brand. Furthermore, the broker notes that CBA's offering is limited only to eligible customers, unlike Afterpay's platform. The Afterpay share price is currently trading at $108.94.
Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG)
A note out of UBS reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating and $6.00 price target on this insurance giant's shares. UBS has been busy looking into the company's margins and believes that they may now have bottomed. The broker expects improvements in the coming quarters. It also suspects that there could even be upside risk to margins if IAG successfully delivers its ongoing initiatives. The IAG share price is fetching $4.87 on Friday afternoon.
Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD)
Analysts at Goldman Sachs have retained their buy rating and $6.73 price target on this airport operator's shares. According to the note, the broker was pleased to see a big improvement in passenger volumes during February after a slowdown in January driven by border restrictions. Looking ahead, the broker believes the company will be a major beneficiary of the Australian domestic inoculation strategy. The Sydney Airport share price is trading at $6.22 on Friday.
