Ford shares gain for a second straight session on Monday, 2 000 hourly workers in Michigan to be laid off temporarily

Ford Motor Company (F) intends to lay off almost 2 000 hourly workers at its assembly and stamping facilities in Wayne, Michigan, since the plants are to be reorganized to manufacture the companys Ranger pickup trucks and Bronco SUVs.

Ford shares closed higher for a second consecutive trading session on Monday. The stock went up 1.73% ($0.18) to $10.58, after touching an intraday high at $10.63, or a price level not seen since March 1st ($10.69).

In the week ended on March 4th the shares of the global automotive company lost 2.80% of their market value compared to a week ago, which marked the first drop out of three weeks. It has also been the worst performance since the week ended on February 4th.

The stock has pared its loss to 0.28% so far during the current month, following a 3.28% slump in February. The latter has been a third straight month of losses.

For the entire past year, the shares of the NYSE-listed auto maker rose 2.97% following a 13.91% slump in 2016.

“Employees who are temporarily affected will receive approximately 75 percent of their take-home pay if they have one year seniority”, Kelli Felker, Ford’s manufacturing and labor communications manager, said in an e-mailed statement, cited by Reuters.

“The affected employees all will return to work – either at Michigan Assembly or at another Ford facility”, Felker noted.

The lay-offs are to be initiated in the beginning of May and are expected to last through October, a notice by the US auto maker revealed.

According to CNN Money, the 22 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Ford Motor Company’s stock price, have a median target of $13.00, with a high estimate of $15.00 and a low estimate of $8.00. The median estimate is a 22.87% surge compared to the closing price of $10.58 on March 5th.

The same media also reported that 17 out of 24 surveyed investment analysts had rated Ford Motor Company’s stock as “Hold”, while 4 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 2 analysts had recommended selling the stock.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, today’s levels of importance for the Ford stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $10.61
R2 – $10.64
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $10.67
R4 (Long Breakout) – $10.76
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $10.87
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $10.92

S1 – $10.55
S2 – $10.52
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $10.49
S4 (Short Breakout) – $10.40
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $10.29
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $10.24

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Ford Motor Company (F) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $10.51
R1 – $10.88
R2 – $11.36
R3 – $11.73
R4 – $12.10

S1 – $10.03
S2 – $9.66
S3 – $9.18
S4 – $8.70