Ford shares fall for a second straight session on Tuesday, Jefferies upgrades the stock to “Buy”, raises price target

Jefferies was reported to have upgraded Ford Motor Company (F) to “Buy” from a “Hold” rating previously, as it projects the auto maker to report profitability above market consensus in two years.

Ford shares closed lower for a second consecutive trading session in New York on Tuesday. The stock went down 0.61% ($0.07) to $11.44, after touching an intraday low at $11.36, or a price level not seen since May 23rd ($11.33).

Shares of Ford Motor Company have retreated 8.41% so far in 2018 compared with a 0.61% gain for the underlying index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2017, Ford’s stock surged 2.97%, thus, it again underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 19.42% return.

Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois raised his price target on the stock to $14 from $13 previously.

“Despite being perceived a laggard, we think Ford is early among global OEMs in re-evaluating how it allocates capital, a process most OEMs outside NA have yet to address. Ford is getting no credit for ambitious but credible cost targets and for multiple operating and strategic levers still available to improve market and product exposure”, Houchois wrote in a client note, cited by CNBC.

“Rarely have we seen an OEM generate so little passion”, he added.

The analyst also expects the auto makers operating profit margin to reach 7% in 2020. The latter compares with a Wall Street estimate of 6.1%.

According to CNN Money, the 21 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Ford Motor Company’s stock price, have a median target of $12.00, with a high estimate of $16.00 and a low estimate of $8.00. The median estimate is a 4.90% surge compared to the closing price of $11.44 on May 29th.

The same media also reported that 18 out of 24 surveyed investment analysts had rated Ford Motor Company’s stock as “Hold”, while 4 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 1 analyst had recommended selling the stock.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, today’s levels of importance for Fords stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $11.464
R2 – $11.488
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $11.512
R4 (Long Breakout) – $11.583
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $11.667
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $11.702

S1 – $11.416
S2 – $11.392
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $11.369
S4 (Short Breakout) – $11.297
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $11.213
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $11.178

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Ford Motor Company (F) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $11.497
R1 – $11.663
R2 – $11.817
R3 – $11.983
R4 – $12.150

S1 – $11.343
S2 – $11.177
S3 – $11.023
S4 – $10.870