As previously reported, BofA/Merrill downgraded Ford to Neutral from Buy. Analysts led by John Murphy said Ford reported an impressive Q1 beat and expects 2016 results to follow a more seasonal pattern. Murphy believes the pace of improvement may slow in 2H 2016, partly due to the upcoming changeover and launch of the SuperDuty in Q3 and Q4, and sees no obvious near-term catalysts to drive shares meaningfully higher. The analyst raised his price target on Ford to $17 from $16.

Ford is recalling over 456,000 Bronco Sport and Maverick vehicles due to a battery detection issue that can result in loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash, Wyatte Grantham-Philips of The Associated Press reports, citing documents published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recall covers about 403,000 model year 2021-2024 Bronco Sports produced between February 2020 and March 2024, as well as more than 53,000 model year 2022-2023 Mavericks manufactured from February 2021 to October 2022, according to the report. A Ford spokesperson confirmed to The Associated Press Wednesday, that the software update should arrive by later in the second quarter, commenting that "safety is a top priority, and we are taking proactive measures to address this issue promptly and effectively." Reference Link