Ford Shares Slid Over 2% Premarket as Jefferies Cut Ford Stock Rating to Hold from Buy

Ford shares slid over 2% premarket as Jefferies cut Ford stock rating to hold from buy.

Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois bumped his price target on Ford to $25 per share, but lowered his rating to 'hold' as the carmaker ramps-up its electric vehicle push.

Ford Motor shares extended declines Thursday after analysts at Jefferies lowered their rating on the carmaker ahead of the group's fourth quarter earnings early next month.

Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois cut his rating on Ford to 'hold", from 'buy', noting that it's too early to re-rate the carmaker based on its planned drive into electric vehicle production, even as Ford looks to double the pace of its F-150 Lightning output to 150,000 units this year, and has said it's booked 200,000 reservations for the newly-unveiled electric pickup.

Houchois also bumped his price target by 5, to $20 per share, in response to higher-than-expected cash flows, and improved balance sheet and the carmaker's stake in EV startup Rivian.

Ford, in fact, said Wednesday that its 12% stake in the Irvine, California-based EV group would add $8.2 billion to its fourth quarter bottom line, but noted that "mark-to-market revaluations to account for changes in Rivian’s stock price could result in related gains or losses each quarter reported as special items."