Rudi's View | 10:10 AM
A deeper dive in the highest rated, though unloved stocks on the ASX.
By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck, Editor
One of the negative trends for the local bourse made a turn for the better last week.
Since late May, the seven stockbrokers monitored daily by FNArena had been issuing more downgrades than upgrades for individual listed companies, but last week saw 16 upgrades sharply outnumbering 6 downgrades.
Most of these upgrades occurred in response to weakening share prices, so there might well be a broader message for investors generally.
The local index has lost more than -5% since peaking at 9227.8 on the 5th of August.
Not that share prices in the likes of Lovisa Holdings ((LOV)), Megaport ((MP1)) and Netwealth Group ((NWL)) cannot get any cheaper, but the direct implications are that current share prices already reflect substantial discounts to intrinsic valuations.
For a detailed overview, see: https://fnarena.com/2026/09/21/weekly-ratings-targets-forecast-changes-18-09-26/
If we focus on the weeks preceding and during the August results season (early July until mid-September), then our tally shows 214 downgrades issued against 121 upgrades for 76.9% more downgrades.
Many of these changes were directly linked to financial results and surging/falling share prices, or both.
Mining companies have featured prominently on both sides with uranium, gold and lithium companies in particular hit by lower commodity prices, elevated valuations, or a combination of the two.
Higher bond yields and the prospect of additional RBA tightening added more downside pressure on consumer-related stocks, REITs and the local housing and building sector.
The picture for the local Technology sector remains diverse and polarised, though multiple smaller cap companies disappointed and fell out of favour.
For Healthcare, August has marked a swift turnaround in general market sentiment, including for sector leader CSL ((CSL)).
See also: https://fnarena.com/2026/09/17/treasure-chest-healthcare-upgrades/
FNArena's monthly updated (10 times out of 12) Australian Super Stock Report equally points to rather unusual circumstances for Australian stocks.
The September update, published last week, shows all stocks inside the Top 40 only carry Buy-equivalent ratings.
I remember the days when not even the ten highest rated stocks all enjoyed a full suite of Buy ratings, but admittedly, those days are far into the past.
Today's share market remains dominated by a small group of stocks that generate a positive return and about two out of three stocks continuously testing investors' patience.
This set-up, I believe, is the background for 40 stocks that do not have one single Neutral or Sell rating, while price targets remain well above current share prices.
Below is the Top 10 with background commentary. The full report is available for paying subscribers (in Excel format):
https://fnarena.com/analysis-data/super-stock-report/
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