It has been another busy week for Australia's top brokers. This has led to the release of a large number of broker notes.
Three broker buy ratings that you might want to know more about are summarised below. Here's why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:
Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE)
According to a note out of Macquarie, its analysts have retained their outperform rating and $16.70 price target on this lithium miner's shares. This follows news that the company will merge with fellow lithium miner Livent Corp. Macquarie is a fan of the plan and sees significant potential synergies thanks to their complementary operations across Argentina and Canada. In addition, it highlights how the combination will provide additional conversion capacity at the Olaroz stage 2 operation. The Allkem share price was trading at $14.94 at yesterday's close.
Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX: BOQ)
A note out of Ord Minnett reveals that its analysts have upgraded this regional bank's shares to a buy rating with an $8.50 price target. The broker made the move on valuation grounds following significant share price weakness in 2023. In addition, Ord Minnett believes the bank is well-placed to return to system loan growth and boost its margins once competition eases and the ME Bank integration completes. The Bank of Queensland share price is currently fetching $5.60.
Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT)
Analysts at Morgans have retained their add rating on this data centre operator's shares with a trimmed price target of $13.50. The broker was pleased to learn of NextDC's plan to expand overseas. Morgans is confident the plan leverages NextDC's competitive advantage and believes healthy contract wins across enterprise and cloud should follow. The NextDC share price was trading at $11.78 prior to its trading halt.
