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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National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)
According to a note out of UBS, its analysts have upgraded this banking giant's shares to a buy rating with an improved price target of $47.00. The broker believes that NAB has been successful defending its leadership position in business banking. In light of this, it believes the bank is well-placed to benefit from structural business lending growth. And with NAB shares underperforming in 2025, it sees more opportunity for a re-rating this year than it does for the rest of the big four banks. The NAB share price is trading at $42.18 on Friday.
Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL)
A note out of Macquarie reveals that its analysts have upgraded this investment platform provider's shares to an outperform rating with a trimmed price target of $32.40. This follows the release of a quarterly update which revealed that its net inflows were ahead of the broker's expectations. One disappointment was that Netwealth's EBITDA margin guidance was a touch softer than Macquarie was expecting. This was due to higher investment in software. While Macquarie has trimmed its earnings forecasts to reflect the lower EBITDA margin guidance, it remains positive and sees value in the company's shares following significant share price weakness. The Netwealth share price is fetching $25.65 at the time of writing.
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)
Analysts at Bell Potter have retained their buy rating on this gold miner's shares with an increased price target of $31.10. According to the note, the broker notes that Northern Star has released its second quarter update. But with most of the numbers already pre-released earlier this month, it was a touch surprised with the very negative share price reaction. It suspects this was due to frustrations on Northern Star's forward guidance and the lack of clear and timely information. While its performance has been disappointing, Bell Potter believes that its issues are largely resolved or one-off, setting up a base for a stronger second half of FY 2026. In addition, it highlights that as it comes to the end of the KCGM mill expansion, it expects the company to generate materially higher free cash flow, which may be distributed to shareholders or re-invested. The Northern Star share price is trading at $27.75 this afternoon.
