Ford plans on cutting 1,000 jobs as part of its restructuring plan, according to reports
The shares of automotive maker Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) are up 0.4% at $6.86 at last check, after the company said it will lay off 1,000 salaried employees in North America as part of its $11 billion restructuring plan, according to a report from Bloomberg. The report went on to say the job cuts will come in the form of voluntary buyouts, and are not related to the financial implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A look at the charts show F at a relative standstill of late, contained mostly by the $7 level. The security's mid-August breakout attempt was quickly squashed by the 200-day moving average, which has kept a lid on the shares for the past 12 months. While Ford stock has put some distance between its current levels and its March trough, it's still looking at a 26.6% deficit year-to-date.
This price action has sparked mostly lukewarm analyst sentiment. Of the 11 in coverage, seven call it a "hold," and one says "strong sell." Meanwhile, the 12-month consensus price target of $7.46 is a 9.1% premium to current levels.
And while calls are still outnumbering puts on an overall basis during the past 10 days, these bears have rarely been more active. F sports a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.23 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) which sits in the 10th percentile of its annual range. This implies long puts haven't been more popular in the past year.