Barclays Trimmed Target Prce on Sonic Automotive (SAH) to $67, on Soft 2026 Vehicle Demand Forecast

Sonic Automotive Inc. (NYSE:SAH) is one of the 13 Deep Value Stocks to Buy Right Now.

Barclays, on February 23, slightly trimmed its target price on Sonic Automotive by 2.9% to $67 (from $69) and retained the firm’s Equal Weight call on the stock. This target price cut was triggered by management’s cautious outlook on 2026 vehicle demand, prompting Barclays to reduce its forecasts.

Sonic released its Q4 2025 earnings on February 18, which showed solid results for the quarter. The company posted adjusted EPS of $1.52, narrowly beating the street consensus of $1.50 despite slightly missing the revenue consensus.

While the company had a decent quarter (and a good year in general), management during the Q&A portion of the analyst briefing cautioned about rising vehicle prices, which could dampen consumer demand in 2026. Here’s what Frank Dyke, Sonic’s Vice President of Retail Strategy, had to say:

“But I think that everybody needs to keep a real close eye out on the inflationary effects and what’s going to happen with new car pricing as we move into the early parts of the summer, late spring here and these — our manufacturer partners start moving that cost on to the consumer in a more — in a way that we did not see in 2025 … I am cautioning and concerned about what is going to happen, how far, how much elasticity can we deal with or can the consumer deal with from a new car perspective. And something is going to have to give here. The prices are getting — are just getting too high.”

Sonic Automotive Inc. (NYSE:SAH) is an automotive retailer, selling both new and used cars and providing maintenance, warranty, paint, and repair services. The company is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was founded in January 1997 by Ollen Bruton Smith and Bryan Scott Smith.

While we acknowledge the potential of SAH as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.