Ford Stock Named Top Pick By Morgan Stanley

Ford stock has been on a bit of a rollercoaster ride over the past few years, movement driven by everything from the pandemic to a new deal with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union to uncertainties pertaining to EV adoption and sales growth. As a result, many traders were keen to short Ford stock throughout 2023, and a couple of investment firms downgraded their outlook on those same shares as well. However, a handful of Ford execs took that opportunity to double down on their personal investments – signaling confidence in the future – and that’s also the case with Morgan Stanley, which just named Ford stock as one of its top picks, according to CNBC.

In fact, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas has named Ford as that company’s top pick among all U.S. automakers in his latest note to clients, pointing out that slower-than-expected growth in the EV market may actually benefit The Blue Oval. “Slower EV adoption is a POSITIVE for Ford,” Jonas said in his note. “While progress will be measured over multiple quarters, we are confident that Ford can act to mitigate the source of value destruction.”

As Ford Authority reported back in late October, Ford is delaying around $12 billion in previously-planned EV investments due to this downturn, though it’s still moving forward with the bulk of its expansion in that regard. However, that savings left a particularly positive impression on Jonas, hence his optimism regarding Ford stock in the coming weeks and months.

“In the auto industry, it’s the $10bn that you don’t spend that can add more value than the $10bn that you do spend,” Jonas added. “While we do not expect a share buyback campaign as GM has undertaken, we believe Ford has significant room to preserve capital and return excess cash to shareholders. Investments in EV, [autonomous vehicles] and Software Defined Vehicles (SDVs) can continue in partnership with tech specialists and partners.”

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