The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Scotia Capital analyst John Zamparo has assumed coverage on Canadian Tire with a "sector underperform" recommendation. The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Zamparo set a share target of $140. Analysts on average target the shares at $164.09. Mr. Zamparo says in a note: "Canadian Tire is among the best-performing consumer stocks over the past six months (up 14 per cent) and year-to-date (up 6 per cent), as investors have preferred discretionary over staples. To an extent, this has been justified, as Canadian Tire soundly beat consensus estimates for three straight quarters. At this stage, however, we see more risks than opportunities: (1) tariffs may be paused for now, but we expect a replay in a month's time; (2) macroeconomic conditions are subpar, with credit metrics and most consumer sentiment indices weak/worsening; (3) Canadian Tire's decision to keep full ownership of the bank removes a key catalyst, and we see no other obvious ones near term; and (4) valuation at 11.5 times P/E exceeds Canadian Tire's five-year average. We commend Canadian Tire's recent performance but currently believe downside is more likely than upside."