Ford shares close lower on Tuesday, total vehicle sales in the United States rise 1% in June

Ford Motor Company’s (F) overall auto sales in the United States were reported to have risen 1.2% to 230 635 vehicles in June in comparison with the same month of 2017. That compares with a 0.8% sales growth expected by Edmunds.

Sales in the United States for the first six months of 2018, however, shrank 1.8% compared to the same period a year ago to a total of 1 277 691 vehicles.

Ford shares closed lower for the ninth time in the past eleven trading sessions in New York on Tuesday. The stock went down 0.99% ($0.11) to $10.99, with the intraday high and the intraday low being at $11.15 and $10.94 respectively.

Shares of Ford Motor Company have retreated 12.01% so far in 2018 compared with a 1.48% 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.

Last month, sales of sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) went up 8.9% year-on-year to a total of 84 617 units. Fords new EcoSport registered its strongest month since it was launched, as sales grew 23.3% over May to 6 756 vehicles. Retail sales of the all-new Ford Expedition registered a 20.7% growth in June, while retail sales of the all-new Lincoln Navigator soared 119.7%.

At the same time, Ford’s total truck sales grew 3.2% year-on-year to 100 683 units during the past month. Sales of Ford’s F-Series went up 1.7% to a total of 79 204 trucks.

“As leaders in truck and SUV sales, the Ford brand had an incredible first half with almost 1 million sold. F-Series has posted gains for 14 consecutive months, while Ford SUVs posted a new record June sales month and Transit sales gain 25 percent”, Mark LaNeve, Fords vice president, US Marketing, Sales and Service, was quoted as saying in the companys press release.

“Our all-new Lincoln Navigator continues as the hottest new product in the country, with triple-digit gains in the first half”, he added.

On the other hand, last month sales of passenger cars in the United States dropped 14.0% year-on-year to 45 335 units.

According to CNN Money, the 19 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Ford Motor Company’s stock price, have a median target of $13.00, with a high estimate of $16.00 and a low estimate of $8.00. The median estimate represents an 18.29% upside compared to the closing price of $10.99 on July 3rd.

The same media also reported that 15 out of 22 surveyed investment analysts had rated Ford Motor Company’s stock as “Hold”, while 5 – 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, Thursday’s levels of importance for Fords stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $11.01
R2 – $11.03
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $11.05
R4 (Long Breakout) – $11.11
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $11.17
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $11.20

S1 – $10.97
S2 – $10.95
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $10.93
S4 (Short Breakout) – $10.87
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $10.81
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $10.78

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

Central Pivot Point – $11.26
R1 – $11.48
R2 – $11.90
R3 – $12.12
R4 – $12.35

S1 – $10.84
S2 – $10.62
S3 – $10.20
S4 – $9.79