03:40 PM EDT, 07/11/2025 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with National Bank commentary)

AutoCanada ( AOCIF ) on Friday said Paul Antony will leave his role as excecutive chair and that the company has begun the search for a chief executive.

Antony will serve as non-executive chair for a transition period.

"Paul navigated the company through many challenges and built a strong foundation," said Chris Harris, lead independent director. "With the operational overhaul and cost transformation well underway, the company is poised for growth on a scalable and disciplined basis."

The company had its outperform rating and $25 target price confirmed at National Bank of Canada, who believes, operationally the company has turned the corner, confirming its newfound bullishness as of November 2024.

"Macro / consumer sentiment remains choppy but auto industry stats in Canada have been surprisingly more resilient than feared," said analyst Maxim Sytchev. "We don't believe that the blue sky scenario as previously discussed is at risk unless Canada enters a recession; the latter forecast has been fluid / tough to nail in terms of timing / realization, and we do indeed need to contend with a higher share price vs. our November upgrade."

National Bank believes the next catalyst "needs" to be balance sheet deleveraging, contingent upon the sale of U.S. assets.

(MT Newswires covers equity, commodity and economic research from major banks and research firms in North America, Asia and Europe. Research providers may contact us here: https://www.mtnewswires.com/contact-us)

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