Morgan Stanley analyst Paresh Jain assumed coverage on AutoNation and upgraded it two notches to Overweight from Underweight and raised its price target to $70 from $47. Paresh believes tech disruption will consolidate the fragmented US auto dealer market to a few "Megadealers" that support a shared autonomy transportation complex in the future. He believes AutoNation's initiatives to grow its digital footprint, control lead generation, improve marketing, and enhance the consumer's online experience will allow it to take a lead in digitization and branding as consolidation accelerates.

Guggenheim analyst Ronald Jewsikow raised the firm's price target on AutoNation to $169 from $165 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm updated estimates for its auto supplier and auto dealer coverage ahead of Q1 results from the group.