Ford stock up on expectations of market share gain

Stock Market Predictions

DETROIT (Global Markets) - Shares of Ford Motor Co (F.N) shot up as much as 4.1 percent on Thursday on projections that the U.S. automaker gained market share in June.

Automakers will report U.S. light vehicle sales Friday and sales are expected to be up slightly.

"Ford could likely outpace overall U.S. light vehicle sales, which we believe could 'boost' share in the near-term," Buckingham Research Group analyst Joseph Amaturo wrote in a research note dated June 30.

Analysts also cited comments by Ford's U.S. sales analyst George Pipas on Wednesday that the industry's June sales might be better than May's and that full-size pickup truck sales were rebounding as gasoline prices receded. Pickup trucks, a segment dominated by Ford and other U.S. automakers, generate higher profits.

Investors were relieved that the auto market was not weakening, analysts said, citing a Thursday report that factory activity in the Midwest accelerated in June.

Ford shares were 3.3 percent higher at $13.86 on the New York Stock Exchange in afternoon trading on Thursday. Earlier they reached as high as $13.97. Shares of U.S. rival General Motors Co (GM.N) were up 0.2 percent at $30.35.

Buckingham projected that Ford's share in June would be in the high-17 percent range. So far this year, Ford's share of the U.S. auto market -- the second-largest in the world -- is 17.2 percent. Ford took 17.8 percent of the market in May.

Pickup truck sales are expected to underperform the overall industry because consumers are seeking more fuel-efficient cars, Amaturo said. Still, Ford is likely to gain share in that segment because its offerings are more attractive.

"We expect Ford's full-size pickup sales to outpace GM's full-size pickup sales given Ford's EcoBoost V6 engine," Amaturo wrote.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman and Ben Klayman, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)