The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Desjardins Securities analyst Chris Li has reiterated his "buy" ranking and $80 share target for Alimentation Couche-Tard. The Globe's Darcy Keith writes in the Eye On Equities column that analysts on average target the shares at $83.66. Mr. Li says in a note: "We expect the removal of the equity overhang from a deal and resumption of share buybacks to be a catalyst. Considering management's view that Alimentation Couche-Tard's valuation is attractive, supported by compelling long-term growth (organic and M&A), as well as its strong free cash flow and balance sheet, we believe Couche-Tard has the capacity to deploy about $2.5-billion (U.S.) of capital for share buybacks in the current fiscal year (ending around April, 2026). Based on the current share price, we estimate this represents 5 per cent of shares outstanding and would take its leverage to its target of about 2.25 times (from two times)." Mr. Li thinks the next catalyst should be an improvement in U.S. merchandise same-store sales growth. The Globe reported on May 16 that Stifel analyst Martin Landry had reaffirmed his "buy" recommendation for Couche-Tard. The shares could then be had for $69.04.