Jefferies sees inflationary woes negatively affecting Australia's Healius

Australian Clinical Labs

03/05/2023 24:29

** Analysts at Jefferies see lower general practitioner
visits leading to less pathalogy in the second half of FY23 for
Australian healthcare firm Healius Ltd  HLS.AX , an issue seen
against the backdrop of operating in an inflationary environment
    ** Says ongoing lower practitioner visits is currently
leading to less pathology, which is a negative for margins
    ** Brokerage says buy-out offer from Australian Clinical
Labs  ACL.AX   for HLS will not be approved by the country's
competition regulators 
    ** Says HLS and ACL are already the largest or
second-largest players in all Australian states, and if combined
will have the largest market shares in all states
    ** Jefferies downgrades HLS's rating to 'underperform' from
'hold'; maintains price target at A$2.60 per share
    ** "We worry about potential irrational industry competition
for HLS"- Jefferies 
    ** Two out of 11 analysts rate the stock 'buy' or higher,
five 'hold' and four 'sell' or lower; their median PT is A$2.94-
Refinitiv data 
    ** Stock largely unchanged so far this year, as of last
close

 (Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru)
 ((Roushni.Nair@thomsonreuters.com;))