While the human toll is shocking, the coronavirus is also pounding American companies, such as the Ford Motor Company (F). Its shares took a pounding this year.
Ford’s pandemic-era price skidded from high of $10.55 in July 2019 all the way down to $4.85 during the first week for May.
But that was the right price for one of the car giant’s top executives.
Ford’s Chief Operating Officer, James Farley Jr., was not put off by his company’s guidance that it could suffer a second quarter loss in the neighborhood of $5 billion.
Farley plunked down a cool $1 million on April 30, to buy 194,950 shares, at an average per-share price of $5.13.
Farley now owns 828,922 Ford shares, according to a form he filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Most of Farley’s Ford stake is derived from grants of restricted stock and stock options.
That’s why dropping $1 million on the open market could be an intriguing for pandemic era investors. According to SEC filings, it was the first time Farley made an open-market purchase since 2007.
Credit Suisse analyst Dan Levy has a neutral rating on Ford with a $6 price target about a 20% from its current $5 range.
