Legacy automaker Ford (F) shook up its electric pickup lineup a bit, coming out with a new version of the F-150 Lightning truck. The bad news is that it had to replace an older model to get the new model in, and it looks like this was a change investors did not much care for. That modest disapproval was expressed by a fractional dip in Ford stock in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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The F-150 Lightning’s sales trajectory has already had some unfortunate developments. Reports note sales are already down about 10% as compared to last year’s figures. But Ford thought that, perhaps, it could put some new charge in the truck by bringing out the STX, a new appearance package that was engineered with the customer in mind.
Based on customer feedback, Ford “…raided the F-150 parts bin” and brought back a set of new features that will give the F-150 Lightning an appearance upgrade. This includes running boards normally seen on the F-150 Tremor, and a set of new wheels and tires as well. The downside here, though, is that the XLT is no longer a thing. The STX is replacing it altogether.
New Fleet Management Platform
Meanwhile, Ford—which is no stranger to being a part of fleet service—recently got together with ServiceTitan (TTAN) to put together a new fleet management platform geared toward companies that have field service operations, like repair businesses. The new fleet management system will deliver a range of benefits, reports note, including reduced downtime, reduced costs, and “real-time insights,” which is a lot of why the big data concept ever existed.
The new platform will combine Data Services from Ford Pro with ServiceTitan’s Fleet Pro Software, producing a whole new platform that offers a range of diagnostic tools and other information. And, with Ford vehicles from 2020 forward including integrated modems, the software will be able to effectively communicate without the need for any aftermarket add-ons.
Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on two Buys, eight Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 10.13% rally in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $10.60 per share implies 9.09% downside risk.
