We know that legacy automaker Ford (F) has been trying to get the regular car back into rotation for some time now. While this does conflict somewhat with Ford’s “No Boring Cars” principle, customers are clamoring for a less-expensive option. It is hard for businesses to ignore the sound of a lot of people ready to throw money at a company without a good reason. But this clear interest is not helping Ford stock much, as shares dropped modestly in Thursday afternoon’s trading.
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We know that Ford’s new manufacturing processes are going to bring about new cars. A mid-size truck is set to arrive next year, along with SUVs and vans. A car may be next to follow, and some believe that this car will be of the smaller family sedan variety. Ford used to sell a range of cars in this vein, including the Fiesta, the Focus, and the Taurus. But Ford largely dropped that market to pursue SUVs and trucks.
But we know that Ford has recently been shopping around for a “Nomenclature Specialist” who has named products before, which suggests Ford will have several new varieties coming out in short order. We do not know what this sedan will look like, either, nor do we know much about its performance. About all we know so far is that it will come in under $40,000, because that is the price ceiling that Ford has put on all the new vehicles that will come out under the new platform.
Ford, Fix This
A recent TikTok video from Ford owner Morgan Gary underscored an issue with the Ford Fusion. Specifically, its steering wheel controls are having a tough time interacting with the car’s Spotify (SPOT) system. While Gary noted she could readily skip ads by interacting with the touchscreen controls, using the steering wheel controls to do the job was a different matter.
In perhaps the most interesting twist, Gary asserted that the steering wheel controls actually did sort of work. They could skip 15 seconds ahead on anything else besides advertising. Other drivers actually report running into the same issue.
Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on three Buys, 11 Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 17.88% rally in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $13.95 per share implies 20.78% upside potential.
