10:35 AM EDT, 07/17/2025 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

ATD has withdrawn its offer to acquire 7-Eleven owner Seven & i Holdings Co., citing a lack of engagement by the Japanese company. In our view, the deal was always a long shot. In addition to prolonged, unproductive negotiations, regulatory scrutiny remained a major obstacle, and the Japanese government appeared reluctant to let one of its most iconic retail chains fall into foreign hands. For ATD, it's now back to business as usual, and we expect the company to remain highly active in the M&A market (over 70% of its store network today is M&A-sourced), particularly as the U.S. convenience store sector remains both mature and fragmented, making it ripe for consolidation. ATD also has ample financial capacity to pursue future deals, with a 2.0x leverage ratio as of FY 25, $2.3 billion in cash, and an additional $3.4 billion available under its revolver. We lift our 12-month target to CAD81 from CAD62, about 21x our FY 26 (Apr.) EPS of $2.82 (CAD3.87). ATD can also now restart share buybacks.