Canaccord starts Driven Brands with a Buy, calls car wash concerns ‘overblown’

As previously reported, Canaccord analyst Brian McNamara initiated coverage of Driven Brands with a Buy rating and $41 price target. As the largest auto services company in North America with a "highly franchised" base of 4,805 locations, the company is "just scratching the surface of its growth potential," Canaccord tells investors. The firm believes market concerns over the discretionary nature of car wash are "overblown" given a large and aging car parc and compelling unit level economics in "a fragmented industry ripe for share gains," the analyst added.