When it comes to stock picking it can pay to listen to the experts.
I've had a look through the research reports issued by Macquarie over the past week and filtered out a handful which the analyst team thinks will outperform over the next year.
Let's see who they like.
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Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)
This company is in the midst of a major capital raise under which it is looking to raise $827 million, including $309 million from existing shareholders.
Despite the raise being conducted at $14.30 per share, Megaport shares have held up well and are currently changing hands for $18.88.
This can be explained by the fact that the company also announced some major contract wins at the same time as it announced the capital raise.
The new contracts were worth about $458.9 million and would require $369.5 million in infrastructure spending, "primarily for high-performance NVIDIA GPUs, network, and storage infrastructure".
Macquarie said Megaport provides AI exposure for investors with shorter lead times and less capital expenditure than data centre operators.
Macquarie has a price target of $27.80 on Megaport shares.
Viva Energy Ltd (ASX: VEA)
This company had a setback with a fire at its Geelong refinery in April, but Macquarie expects that repairs should be nearing completion.
Macquarie says Viva could deliver its best refining half in four years, even taking into account the fire impact.
A new head of the convenience division is also set to start soon, to help drive growth in what has been a "troubled" part of the business.
Macquarie has a $3.40 price target on Viva shares compared to $2.24 currently.
Fineos Corporation Ltd (ASX: FCL)
This company develops software for use by the global health insurance sector and has had recent contract wins in Australia and overseas.
The company recently reaffirmed revenue guidance in the range of €147m to €152m, and its closing cash balance at the end of March was €47.1m, up by €11.7m over the quarter.
Macquarie said the company was trading at a discount to one of its peers, GWRE, and its "medium-term revenue mix targets imply an acceleration in revenue vs Macquarie forecasts''.
Macquarie has a price target of $3.50 on Fineos shares compared to $2.15 currently.
Ebos Group Ltd (ASX: EBO)
Ebos Group shares are down almost 50% over the past 12 months; however, the Macquarie team believes the company is well-placed for share price gains.
The company is also paying a dividend yield of 5.9% this year, with that figure expected to increase to 6.9% in 2028.
EBOS in April downgraded its FY26 underlying EBITDA guidance to $610 to $620 million, down from a previous range of $615 to $635 million, due to higher fuel and energy costs.
Macquarie said on the positive side of the ledger, a new First Pharmaceutical Wholesaler Agreement has been struck with the Federal Government, which will benefit EBOS' Symbion division.
Macquarie has a price target of NZ$36.44 on the stock compared with NZ$20.66 at the time of writing.
