UPDATE: J.P. Morgan Raising Price Target On AutoNation (AN)

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is raising its price target on shares of AutoNation AN to $33 from $29, and it has an Overweight rating on shares. In a note to investors, J.P. Morgan writes, "AN reported 1Q:11 EPS of $0.46, modestly ahead of JPMe ($0.44) driven by better-than-expected same-store new vehicle retail unit sales growth. Company continued on its share buyback spree in the quarter, and provided revised outlook on industry sales and associated strategic actions in the conference call as new vehicle supply from Japanese automakers gets constrained. We raise our Dec-2011 price target to $33 (15x 2012e EPS of $2.20; $29 earlier), but maintain Neutral rating mainly on valuation." Shares of AN lost 21 cents on Friday to close at $33.91, a loss of 0.6%.