Good evening,

Afterpay’s $1.05 billion equity capital markets deal is 24 hours old — but it’s still all that anyone wants to talk about. Bankers, brokers, fund managers … you name it, everyone’s got an opinion. Most of the talk shuffles between admiration and bewilderment. Some people have made lots of money, others are outright angry. It’s still well under-owned by Australian fund managers, even after Tuesday’s placement.

The final word on Wednesday went to Morgan Stanley’s analysts. The MS team declared Afterpay was worth $101 a share, only hours after they told clients it was worth $36. There were 40-odd pages of analysis to support the call. MS became the first broker to place a $100-plus price target on the company, ever, according to Bloomberg’s sell-side survey.

Meanwhile, the oversized equity raisings look set to continue as ASX considers extending the temporary relief on its listing rules. It is in talks with ASIC and market participants about keeping this in place well past the July 31 deadline.

Elsewhere, one of the country’s big infrastructure funds has kicked off a raising, and Deloitte is beating the drum for an online retailer that’s hoping to make the most of the investor spotlight (and valuations) in the sector.

Happy reading,

Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald and Tim Boyd
Street Talk Editors