Perpetual's bull at Macquarie reckons the latest private-equity bid fired its way underlines the value on offer at the Australian investment manager. "While the bid is in line with our valuation, we view our EPS as conservative with sizeable potential for cost-out and confidence in new management," one of the investment bank's analysts writes in a note. EQT's A$21.64-a-share proposal, which the ASX-listed company has rebuffed, does not capture the cost savings already targeted by Perpetual, the analyst says. There could be even bigger savings to come, particularly in Perpetual's asset-management business, they add. Macquarie reiterates an outperform rating on the stock and maintains a target price of 21.60 Australian dollars. Shares are up 1.6% at A$19.025. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)