01:30 PM EDT, 07/25/2025 (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:

We raise our 12-month target by $15 to $240, based on a 2026 P/E of 11.0x, a premium to historic averages. We increase our adjusted EPS estimates to $20.25 from $19.00 for 2025 and to $21.80 from $20.50 for 2026. Following a big Q2 earnings beat, we are reiterating our Strong Buy opinion and raising our price target on AN. The company posted Q2 adjusted EPS of $5.46 vs. $3.99 (+37%), well ahead of the $4.70 consensus. Net sales rose 8% to $6.97B ($120M ahead of consensus) and gross margin expanded 40 bps to 18.3% (70 bps ahead of consensus). Same-store unit sales were up 8% for new vehicles and 6% for used vehicles, with the surge in used vehicle volumes being the biggest positive surprise, in our view. While AN's pace of share repurchases slowed in Q2 (only $29M vs. $225M in Q1), we expect this to be temporary, and it continues to be among the industry's best in terms of execution. Furthermore, we think interest rate cuts could lead to stronger earnings in 2026/2027 than the current Street estimates are reflecting.