Shares of Ford Motor Company dropped by about two percent today after a Morgan Stanley ratings downgrade put the company at “underweight” from a previous “overweight” rating. The firm says it cut the rating on the belief that the Ford strategy of aluminum F-150 trucks will backfire compared to investor expectations for sales. Ford is currently experiencing a delay in production due to having to switch equipment and retool it’s F-150 factory to switch to Aluminum for the 2015 line.
Saying Ford is “compounding risks to North American industry profitability,” the investment firm cut its price target on Ford by a dollar, down to $16.
Many other firms, however, have not dropped their ratings of Ford and many recommend it as a buy. The Street says that Ford is still a buy with a score of B. “This is driven by multiple strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover.”
