It has been another busy week for many of Australia's top brokers. This has led to the release of a 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 right now:
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Amcor (ASX: AMC)
According to a note out of UBS, its analysts have upgraded this packaging company's shares to a buy rating with an improved price target of $18.25. The broker has turned positive on Amcor following the completion of its merger with Berry. In fact, it believes the merger leaves Amcor well-placed to deliver double-digit annual earnings per share growth through to FY 2028. In addition, it thinks the market is being too negative on Amcor's ability to deliver on its synergy targets. In light of the above, the broker sees plenty of value in its shares at current levels and thinks investors should be snapping them up while they are cheap. The Amcor share price is trading at $14.15 on Friday afternoon.
Aurizon Holdings Ltd (ASX: AZJ)
A note out of Macquarie reveals that its analysts have upgraded this rail freight operator's shares to an outperform rating with a $3.39 price target. Macquarie highlights that Aurizon is guiding to its lowest profit in over a decade in FY 2025. This reflects coal volumes that did not rebound, customer failures, and new business taking longer to develop. While this is disappointing, the broker believes that it is onwards and upwards from FY 2026. Especially given its expectation for network revenue increases and its cost reduction program. Overall, Macquarie views Aurizon's valuation as undemanding and its estimated 7% dividend yield in FY 2026 as attractive. The Aurizon share price is fetching $2.98 at the time of writing.
Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO)
Analysts at Morgans have retained their accumulate rating and $215.00 price target on this cloud accounting platform provider's shares. According to the note, the broker believes that Xero's acquisition of North American digital payments business, Melio, for US$2.5 billion will be dilutive in the short term given that it is loss-making. However, it thinks the acquisition could fast track its US expansion. This is because the addition brings product innovation and makes Xero's North American product more compelling due to combining digital payments and accounting. Overall, it feels the deal moves Xero closer to being a scale player with critical mass in North America. The Xero share price is trading at $183.96 on Friday.
