Last week saw a number of broker notes hitting the wires once again. Three buy ratings that caught my eye are summarised below.
Here's why brokers think investors ought to buy them next week:
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Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)
According to a note out of Citi, its analysts have retained their buy rating and $18.80 price target on this artificial intelligence data services company's shares. It notes that Facebook and Google have reported an acceleration in advertising revenue again. Citi suspects that this could lead to the companies increasing their investment in artificial intelligence and machine learning activities. The Appen share price was trading at $12.55 on Friday.
National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)
A note out of Macquarie reveals that its analysts have retained their outperform rating and $28.00 price target on this banking giant's shares. This follows news that NAB will undertake a $2.5 billion share buyback. Macquarie was pleased with the news and believes it demonstrates the strength of the business despite current lockdowns. Positively, Macquarie doesn't expect the buybacks to stop there. It suspects there could be $5.5 billion of capital returns for investors over the next three years. The NAB share price ended the week at $26.69.
Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG)
Analysts at Credit Suisse have upgraded this energy company's shares to an outperform rating with an improved price target of $4.80. This follows the release of guidance for its Energy Markets business for FY 2022 and FY 2023. While the former is lower than Credit Suisse expected, it was pleased the latter is ahead of its forecasts. Overall, the broker believes FY 2022 is the bottom for its earnings and sees value in its shares at the current level. The Origin share price was trading at $4.27 at Friday's close.
