Daily Brief Australia: Westpac Banking, DUG Technology Ltd, Sayona Mining and more

• Context: The Westpac Banking (WBC AU) vs. VanEck Australian Banks (MVB AU) price-ratio has deviated more than two standard deviations from its one-year average.
• Highlights: The dislocation highlights the recent outperformance of Westpac vs. some of its peers, pointing to a potential underweight in a portfolio context.
• Why Read: Essential for quantitative traders seeking mean-reversion opportunities, with detailed execution framework, risk management protocols, and historical simulation showing the statistical basis for this relative value play.

DUG Technology has received the first purchase order associated with the contract award from Petronas earlier this month, for the first year of the three-year contract. The total net value of the contract is now expected to be $12m higher than originally disclosed, at c $30m. We have updated our forecasts to reflect the higher value, with FY26 EPS upgraded by 3.3% and FY27 by 6.0%.

Created through a merger of equals between Sayona Mining and Piedmont Lithium, Elevra Lithium (ELV) provides unparalleled exposure to the North American hard rock lithium market. The largest regional pure play spodumene producer, Elevra has a strong pipeline of advanced development projects, offering flexible growth, and is well positioned to benefit from the growing localisation of the lithium supply chain in the US. Trading at a large discount to peers on sales multiples, we see the potential for a meaningful value uplift once the company achieves profitability.