The team at Bell Potter has been running the rule over the Australian share market ahead of the new financial year.
This has seen the broker pick out its best buys for the year ahead. We have already covered three ASX 200 shares that make the list here.
Let's take a look at two more that make the list. They are as follows:
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ALS Ltd (ASX: ALQ)
Bell Potter thinks that this testing services company could be an ASX 200 share to buy for FY 2026.
It is feeling particularly positive on the company's outlook following the recent release of its full year results. The broker said:
ALQ's outlook commentary at its FY25 result confirmed positive trend expectations in Commodities segment activity in FY26, aligning with an encouraging backdrop for global exploration markets. We expect a resurgence of Junior activity to complement rising exploration activity among Major clients, who have committed larger exploration budgets in CY25, to deliver double digit organic revenue growth in FY26, ahead of consensus expectations.
Bell Potter sees upside risk to consensus margin expectations. This is thanks to a recovery in sample volumes and dynamic pricing. It adds:
We see upside to EBIT margins (vs consensus expectations) as sample volumes and dynamic pricing recovers strongly and as client mix shifts towards Juniors (ALQ generally realises higher margins on this client-type in an up-cycle). Life Sciences should deliver mid-to-high single digit organic growth and EBIT margin expansion as further cost-out is realised at Nuvisan and Wessling in FY26, supporting the company's earnings growth outlook.
The broker has a buy rating and $19.70 price target on its shares. Based on its current share price of $17.15, this implies potential upside of 15% for investors over the next 12 months.
Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU)
Another ASX 200 share that has been named as a best buy for the year ahead is drug development company Neuren Pharmaceuticals.
The broker believes the company is well-placed for growth over the long term thanks to royalties from Daybue and the development of NNZ-2591. It said:
Neuren Pharmaceuticals is a drug development company with two key rare disease assets: 1) the commercially available treatment Daybue (trofinetide), which will continue to provide ongoing royalty/ milestone income to NEU; and 2) NNZ-2591, which is undergoing clinical development and will commence its first Phase 3 trial in "mid CY25".
With A$341m cash and no debt as of 31-March-2025, we remain confident NEU will be able to fund multiple Phase 3 trials and recruit the 160 subjects for the first Phase 3 trial relatively smoothly. We view NNZ-2591 as the key value driver for NEU and remain optimistic about its prospects for success following promising Phase 2 data. As the Phase 3 trial proceeds through recruitment across CY25-26, we expect the share price to further appreciate as the readout draws nearer.
The broker has a buy rating and $20.00 price target on its shares. This suggests that upside of 46% is possible for investors from current levels.
