You Will Not Believe Why the Ford (NYSE:F) Maverick Got Recalled

A point that emerged just last week left some wondering if legacy automaker Ford (F) was not in a position to see issues with quality come back to haunt it. The sheer cost of all these recalls, after all, is a drag on the bottom line. And the latest recall for Ford, targeting the Ford Maverick, demonstrates just how bad the problem may be getting. One small problem led to a recall of nearly 64,000 vehicles, but Ford investors took it all in stride, sending shares up fractionally in Monday’s afternoon’s trading.

The issue on those 63,898 Ford Mavericks, reports note, is a matter of retaining clips. Specifically, retaining clips on the airbag indicator light, which can be loose, or may become dislodged. Ford is working on a fix, as apparently, the necessary retaining clips are not yet in dealer inventory, which prevents drivers from simply reporting to the dealership as they had done in previous recalls.

The good news here, however, is that the recall does not seem to be much of a problem. Any failure in the retaining clips does not actually seem to hurt the airbag system, nor does it prevent the car from starting and moving from point A to point B. Yet the problem is not just limited to this particular recall, as it joins a panoply of others that have emerged over the last six months and left investors with some serious concerns about Ford quality.

Huge Price Cut on the Raptor

Meanwhile, we know that Ford’s employee pricing special is coming to an end, which is likely leaving some concerned about the prices on Ford vehicles going forward. One point recently emerged that should give the concerned some peace of mind, as Ford will be cutting base-level prices on the Raptor by over $10,000.

Though admittedly, this will still be a pricey vehicle—the starting manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) on the Ford Raptor is a hefty $79,995—but it is still down quite a ways from its original sticker price of $90,035. The price cut is certainly good news, but reports note that the Ford Raptor has had quite a few different price tags on it ever since its inception, and the latest cuts are just that: the latest. After all, back when it first came out, the Raptor sold for $68,500 new.

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, 12 Holds and three Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 17.12% loss in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $9.71 per share implies 6.18% downside risk.

See more F analyst ratings

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