Even before U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January and imposed 25 percent tariffs on imported automobiles earlier this month, Ford stock was already being downgraded by various investment firms over concerns pertaining to high inventory levels and soaring warranty costs. Now, with these new tariffs in place, Ford stands to be impacted in some ways, perhaps in a significant manner. As such, it isn’t terribly surprising to learn that another investment firm has now opted to downgrade its outlook on Ford stock, too.
That firm is Deutsche Bank, according to GuruFocus, which is maintaining its “Hold” rating on Ford stock, but also, downgrading its price target from $9 to $7. Analysts did admit that impending tariffs will likely cause many consumers to head out and purchase vehicles as a way to avoid paying more in the short term, but in the latter half of the year, rising prices could cause a large downturn in that regard as well.
In late March, JPMorgan lowered its price target for Ford stock from $13 to $11 per share largely due to the threat of tariffs, and it was followed by a number of others shortly thereafter. Earlier this month, Bernstein cut its price target for Ford stock by $2.40 to $7, citing concerns pertaining to increased costs stemming from tariffs, coupled with worsening consumer sentiment.
Piper Sandler also recently revised its price target for Ford stock – down from $13 to $9 – though it left its neutral rating intact, moves that stemmed from concerns pertaining to tariffs, as well as the company’s financial performance, market challenges, soaring warranty costs, and slow EV sales across the globe. Most recently, Goldman Sachs jumped on this bandwagon as well, downgrading its outlook on Ford stock from Buy to Neutral and citing global competition, declining consumer sentiment, a slow ramp up in software and services, and tariff burdens as the reasoning behind that decision.
Comment
It’s ironic that Ford’s stock price is moving inverse to these downgrades. Beware the ‘analyst’ that moves their price target to align with the current stock price, there’s no ‘analysis’ involved here, it’s merely reacting to a chart after the fact. Also ask yourself, why would these firms offer up these ‘targets’ for free? Shouldn’t that ‘info’ be privy to their clients?