Broker Panmure Liberum has upgraded Auto Trader Group (LON: AUTO) to Buy from Hold and raised its price target 50% to 630p from 420p. The shares of the online car marketplace closed Friday’s session 0.5% lower.
Auto Trader closed Friday at 555.4p, down from 558.2p the day before, after a 2.2% fall on Thursday when half-year results arrived. The stock is still 26.5% above the 439.2p it closed at on the 26th of May, the day Panmure downgraded it.
The new target reverses the May call, when Panmure cut Auto Trader to Hold from Buy and its target to 420p from 830p after criticising the Deal Builder rollout as disastrous. The 630p figure uses 12x EV/EBIT, enterprise value divided by operating profit. The May target used a 10% free cash flow yield. Panmure says online marketplace shares have re-rated and Auto Trader offers attractive relative value.
The cyclical evidence is modest. Half-year revenue excluding vehicle and accessory sales was £301.8m, 1.1% ahead of Panmure’s £298.4m. Forecourts on the platform rose to 13,900 in September from 13,600 in March, which was what Panmure had expected to see. It raised revenue forecasts about 2% but cut Leasing, Manufacturer and Agency revenue assumptions by 10%. Operating profit slipped to £198.5m from £200.1m, and full-year guidance of £395m to £415m was maintained.
The AI argument is about defence. Autotrader Intelligence combines 57 AI models, an MCP server that lets AI agents access platform content, and customer relationship and lead management tools for dealers. Panmure sees it keeping Auto Trader as the lead generator. The company says it will fund the spending internally without hurting long-term operating margin expectations.
With forecasts barely moved, our reading is that most of the target rise comes from the multiple, which is an inference from the stated 12x basis, not a split Panmure has given. In May the broker still saw a sound business:
Autotrader is still a good business, capable of delivering mid-single-digit top-line growth in the medium term.
Panmure Liberum, 26 May 2026
The 630p target is 13.4% above Friday’s close and above the 583.7p consensus target. Reaching it needs dealer numbers to keep recovering and AI tools to protect the middleman role, and neither shows in revenue yet. Autorama, the company’s leasing business, remains weak.