Inside the Market’s roundup of some of today’s key analyst actions

AutoCanada Inc. (ACQ-T) has been slapped with at least two analyst downgrades after disappointing fourth-quarter results that highlighted ongoing industry headwinds.

National Bank analyst Maxim Sytchev downgraded his rating to “sector perform” from “outperform” while cutting his price target to C$24 from C$29. Canaccord Genuity analyst Luke Hannan downgraded his rating to a “hold” from a “buy” and slashed his target all the way to C$22 from C$42.

“While we were expecting a soft quarter, the magnitude of the miss vs. our and consensus’ expectations is likely enough to shake investors’ confidence in ACQ’s ability to generate operating leverage off of a lower cost base in 2026 and beyond,” Mr. Hannan said.

Fourth quarter revenue from continuing operations of $1.117 billion was below Mr. Hannan’s $1.140 billion expectation and the consensus forecast of $1.126 billion. Similarly, adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations of $32.7 million was well short of Mr. Hannan’s Street-low $41.7 million forecast, and consensus’ $44.6 million.

“We expect the stock to be rangebound for at least the next two quarters given management’s commentary that GPUs [gross profit per unit] in both new and used should be soft over that timeframe, while also taking 12-18 months before ACQ’s dealerships can operate closer to industry benchmarks. We’ve meaningfully reduced our estimates (particularly our GPU assumptions for H1/26 in both new and used) to reflect this, while also reducing our target multiple to 7.0x on 2026E EBITDA (from 7.5x), representing the peer average,” Mr. Hannan said in a note.

Mr. Sytchev, who noted the company’s fourth quarter equated to a loss of 6 cents per share compared to a Street consensus looking for a profit of 49 cents, said the macroeconomic headwinds aren’t helping the company’s outlook.

“The entire auto dealer cohort has been slowly rolling over since late 2025, with the decline only accelerating YTD as interest rates are staying stubbornly high; with recent tariff uncertainty, y/y declines in the residential market and general Canadian economic malaise, the ‘economy is not that bad’ vibe has come off,” said Mr. Sytchev.

“While from a replacement/opportunity to optimize dynamic one should not be adopting a knee-jerk stance, positive catalysts are not exactly jumping out, especially as the company will need to get its act together when it comes to recapturing market share, which by extension, will require resources, people, etc., putting into question how much of the vaunted ‘cost out’ exercise is actually permanent… 80% or 20%? We suspect it’s closer to the latter percentage. With challenging macro compounded by the need to execute amid competitive pressures, we believe that investors might be able to acquire the shares at an even more attractive level over the coming months,” he said.

Elsewhere, ATB Cormark analyst Chris Murray cut his price target to C$22 from C$25 and reiterated a “sector perform” rating. “The ongoing turnaround, which could take 18 months to materialize, combined with softening macro conditions and a lack of near-term catalysts, keeps us cautious on ACQ,” he said.

Analysts were generally pleased with Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.’s (ATD-T) fiscal third quarter results, summed up by National Bank’s Vishal Shreedhar as “generally solid performance” and “good merchandising execution.”

Revenue was $21.8 billion, not far from the consensus of $22.2 billion, while merchandise gross profit was $1.999 billion vs. Mr. Shreedhar estimate of $2.014 billion.

“Merchandise same-store sales growth was positive across all regions, with particular strength in the U.S. Food was solid with mid-to-high-single digit same-store sales growth in the U.S. and mid-single-digit same-store sales growth in Canada,” Mr. Shreedhar said.

“Importantly, ATD indicated broad-based solid merchandise trends continued to date notwithstanding a rise in oil prices,” he added.

“The key for ATD is to deliver sustained growth via organic drivers and complementary acquisitions, in addition to share repurchases. We believe ATD is demonstrating momentum in merchandising, which is constructive,” Mr. Shreedhar said.

He nudged up his price target to C$89 from C$88, mostly due to rolling forward his valuation period, and reiterated an “outperform” rating.

Shares in the company fell 5.1% on Wednesday. Canaccord analyst Luke Hannan primarily attributed that to an earnings per share miss, which came in at 81 cents US, below the Street consensus of 83 cents.

But he also listed offer factors that seemed to disappoint investors: “(1) the long-awaited catalyst of the return to meaningful growth in US merchandise sales being offset with softer trends (albeit still positive same-store sales growth) in Canada and Europe/other regions, and (2) the ramp-up of the new DCs weighing on both normalized opex and US merchandise margins. The biggest positive surprise to us was the commentary on US fuel margins QTD being consistent with YTD trends, which implies a >10 cpg outperformance vs. OPIS data, well above historical averages (~3-5 cpg) and lending credence to the idea that Couche Tard’s scale and trading capabilities better insulate from shocks in the market compared to its peer set. Demand destruction has yet to set in, though we’ll be keeping a close eye on pump prices to see if this materializes; if not, it implies US comps could remain strong enough to help Couche-Tard achieve the low end of its desired 2-3% YoY same store merchandise sales growth target even in the near term.”

Mr. Hannan maintained a “buy” rating and C$91 price target.

The 13.1% plunge in shares of Boyd Group Services Inc. (BYD-T) on Wednesday in the wake of quarterly earnings was “disconnected from fundamentals,” said TD Cowen analyst Derek Lessard.

Analysts described the fourth quarter results as a slight beat but investors were disappointed by same-store sales growth numbers.

“BYD is a structurally stable business that has now delivered consecutive quarters of positive SSS (after two years of declines) while reestablishing its growth cadence amid industry consolidation. The company continues to take share, outperform peers by ~400–500bps, generate meaningful operating leverage, and recently scaled its platform by ~25% via the JHCC acquisition. Against this backdrop, a double-digit share price pullback owing to a modest same-store sales miss, despite a ~3% EBITDA beat, looks overdone,” Mr. Lessard said in a note.

“On same-store sales (SSS) guidance, management’s only directional commentary relates to preliminary velocity based on one month of data. We struggle to see how this suggests that it should be extrapolated to a full quarter. The 2.2% SSS result marks a clear inflection versus the prior two-year declines. In our view, this delays (but does not derail) the return to BYD’s 3-5% range by just one quarter. Management reiterated its 3-5%+ SSS outlook, consistent with its longstanding 400-500bps of outperformance vs. the industry (assuming the category remains down 2-4%). We are now modeling 2.0% SSS in Q1 to reflect temporary weather disruption, with ex-weather trends tracking near the low end of 3–5%. We believe the margin outperformance was largely missed. Operating leverage, favorable mix, and Project 360 drove a ~60bps margin beat (vs. TD Cowen), reinforcing our confidence in BYD’s long-term exit margin of 14%.”

Mr. Lessard cut his price target to C$270 from C$290, but reiterated a “buy” rating and said he views the pullback “as a compelling risk-reward entry point.”

Elsewhere, Raymond James analyst Steve Hansen trimmed his price target to C$275 from C290, but reiterated a “strong buy” rating.

“We continue to recommend shares of Boyd Group Services (Boyd) based upon the company’s: 1) attractive long-term growth prospects; 2) improving macro/industry conditions; 3) transformational Joe Hudson acquisition; 4) clear synergy/margin progression; & 5) discounted valuation,” Mr. Hansen said.

Added Mr. Hansen: “While we acknowledge investor frustration re: BYD’s twin SSSG ‘gut punch’ (4Q25 shortfall & sluggish 1Q26 outlook), we struggle to understand the magnitude of yesterday’s acute share price downdraft. Stating the obvious, 4Q25 was a modest beat. More importantly, however, we point to: 1) further evidence supporting the macro recovery (3rd positive quarter on deck); 2) comments supporting BYDs re-accelerating 1Q26 exit rate; 3) clear margin traction (most impactful variable in model); and 4) brisk/accelerating location adds. Put simply, our thesis remains unchanged.”

High Tide Inc. (HITI-X) shares are down 55% versus peers over the last 12 months, but TD Cowen analyst Derek J. Lessard expects them to soon play catchup. He said Thursday that High Tide is still his top pick in the cannabis sector, as he reiterated a “buy” rating and C$6.50 price target.

“Management reiterated that SSS [same-store sales] decelerated due to extreme weather conditions in January, which disrupted traffic across Ontario,” Mr. Lessard said in a note to clients. “However, the company also acknowledged a broader consumption slowdown owing to a tougher spending environment. As a result, we reduced our 2026 SSS estimate to 2.0% (previously 4.5%). In our view, softer operating conditions should place increasing pressure on marginal operators, positioning HITI to disproportionately gain share as closures accelerate. Accordingly, our 2027E/2028E SSS estimates are unchanged (i.e. 4.0%).”

BMO analyst Stephen MacLeod has reiterated his “outperform” rating on Aritzia Inc. (ATZ-T) after conducting a sales analysis.

“Our Feb/26 web traffic, app, and in-store analysis takeaways are positive. Web traffic growth remained strong (+18% y/y), with growth moderating 1% sequentially; both Canada (+6%) and the U.S. (+29%) were solid. App data shows continued strong engagement and Bloomberg Second Measure data shows FQ4/26E U.S. in-store sales were strong (+51%). While trends can fluctuate q/q, the data indicate ongoing strong sales momentum,” Mr. MacLeod said in a note to clients.

“We continue to believe Aritzia remains well-positioned to execute on its significant U.S. growth opportunity, reflecting its growing brand affinity and Everyday Luxury positioning,” Mr. MacLeod said.

His price target remains at C$163.

BMO’s Mr. MacLeod also sees positive trends at Groupe Dynamite Inc. (GRGD-T)

“Our February 2026 web traffic and in-store sales takeaways are positive. February traffic growth remained solid (+23% y/y); Canada (-2%) growth inflected negative while U.S. growth (+45%) moderated. Notably, new user growth remained solid in Canada (+17%) and strong in the U.S. (+61%), expected to be supportive of recent strong comp growth, and U.S. in-store sales remained robust (+83%),” Mr. MacLeod said in a note to clients.

“We believe Groupe Dynamite is well-positioned for growth in the North American fast fashion women’s apparel market, with several drivers of annual high-teens adjusted EBITDA growth,” he said.

He rates the stock “outperform” and has a price target of C$100.