Ford; times they are a changing

When the preliminary first quarter results of 2014 for Ford Motor Company will be out on 25 April, they would be analyzed with a keen eye by the active investors. Ford executive vice president and chief financial officer, will host a conference call to overview Fords 2014 first quarter results. As Ford Motor Company celebrated the 50th anniversary of its legendry “Mustang, “directors are in an upbeat mood”. Ford motor company has been able to keep its shares flat on above average volume of 32.06M shares and the stock is floating between $15.60 to $15.93.The latest price has helped Ford Motor Company to reach  a market capitalization  of $62.27B. Being the second largest auto maker in the U.S, it’s on its way to finally break even in Europe. There has been a solid rise of 11% in sales in the first quarter whereas there as only been an 8% rise in the industry.

The sales have hit the mark above 326,000 cars in the company’s main 22 markets in Europe. This has generated a lot of optimism for the investors. The strongest markets among these 22 were the U.K and Germany. Fords Fiesta is the hit among the various vehicles offered by the company in Europe. Consumer preferences reports reveal that it may be down to Ford‘s Fiesta that sales have risen to 13% in March and in general 11 % in the quarter in U.K. United kingdom is  its biggest market in Europe in terms of sales volume. Hence Ford Motor Company is on its way to have a successful first quarter of this year. 

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Investor’s Dilemma: Tech based firm or a car manufacturer

Tesla Motors - BidnessEtc

Current TSLA Stock price of around the $200 is far off the highest it hit around $265 which is some time ago. A look at this trend may give anyone a glimpse of the unpredictable nature of TSLA Stock price. By this time, many preconceived notions will be going through your mind about Tesla Motors Inc. Maybe the firm is not using its potential or maybe the idea of eco-friendly cars may not help them to sustain the desired level of consistency that is needed for any company to operate successfully in the long term. But all these notions aren’t quite true .What makes TSLA Stock price act in such a volatile manner maybe down to lack of investors understanding of the company. The dilemma they face is whether to treat Tesla as a car manufacturer or a technology based firm.  This confusion has discouraged many investors to invest in this company.

Currently TSLA is the most shorted stock on the NASDAQ 100. Long term success of the firm’s stock would depend on factors such as its product reception in China and the opening of its factory in that region. Though many analysts see the company in for a rough ride in China as the smooth running of charging stations plus service and repair centers across the country will not be easy to say the least. The dramatic rise of TSLA from a 52 week low of $44.54 to $265.00 led many investors to think the rise may represent the overvaluation of TSLA in their eyes but the current price of around the $200 mark says otherwise.

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Best Buy

Best Buy (BBY) - BidnessEtc

The recent trends have not gone in favor of Best Buy Co., Inc. Reduction in prices of Consumer electronics such as T.Vs which consist of a large chunk of revenues for Best Buy Co., Inc. have forced Best Buy to increase the variety of T.Vs in order to enhance the Retail margins earned on sales of T.V’s. The concerns remain whether it has done enough to diversify its inventory enough to offset the change. Along with T.Vs, Personal Computers have also seen reduction in prices. The 2013 holiday period also did not work in their favor as revenue moved backwards to the surprise of sales executive of Best Buy Co., Inc. Another problematic trend for Best Buy is the comeback of its market rival Amazon and other small scale online retailers. Investors were worried that Best Buy had stopped doing business with many customers due to the price falls experienced by these products. The falling of confidence in Best Buy has not helped the investors. Amazon is on the charge due to impressive selling of its product range of Kindle tablets whereas Best Buy has nothing to offer in this regard. The appointment of the Hubert Joly as the new CEO in August 2012 was seen as cause of optimism but that too was short lived as even he couldn’t offset or provide a solution to o these trends above mentioned. With time though there is no doubting the fact that Best Buy Co., Inc. once gets over the reshuffling of its upper brass will get in the groove very soon.

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Tesla Motors (TSLA)

Tesla Motors Inc - BidnessEtc

Tesla Motors Inc an American Electric Car maker was founded in year 2003 by Marc Tarpenning and Martin Eberhard in the city of San Carlos, state California. Tesla introduced Electric Sports Car by the name of TeslaRoadster which came with attachment of electric sedan named as Tesla Model S. Both of these electric cars were unique product in the car industry. The acceptance of Electic Vehicles led to companys popularity. The Name of Tesla Motors came from the famous electrical engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla. Tesla is the brand of Electric Vehicles and luxurious Sedan.

Now a days Tesla Motors Inc - (TSLA) is headed by Elon Musk the CEO and Co-founder of PayPal. Tesla is continuously improving its services by increasing its showrooms and building a Gigafactory to increase its production of electric vehicles, further making deal with Panasonic for manufacturing its lithium-ion battery which are also sold to other automakers. In 2013 first quarter Tesla recorded profits for the first time in its history. 

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Best Buy currently not the best option to buy

Best Buy Co.Inc - BidnessEtc

During earning season most investors who had been holding on to their Best Buy Co., Inc. stock, hoping for the stock to either give good returns or that the market would see a bearish trend and their stock prices would soar earning them decent profits are now forced to regret their decisions as well as rethink their strategies. bby stocks saw a shocking plummet of 27% following poor sales during the holiday season, making investors who had held onto their stocks in the company in hopes of seeing it soar when earning were announced the biggest losers on the Street. Financial analysts and Wall Street Pundits held the opinion that BestBuy Co., Inc. stock share prices were not going to be the only ones who would take a fall this season due to poor performances and the inability to live up to the expectations of investors.

Best Buy Co., Inc. stock graph saw a small rise in the month of February but things still look grim for the company. As we go into April bby stock charts have a faint and fleeting hope, as the company begins to prepares for fourth of July weekend and investors once again see hope of finding some profits in the company’s second quarter. The Best Buy Co., Inc. Stock Share Prices seem to have stabilized between the 20-30 dollar bracket and remained thus since their huge plummet in January when bby stocks were listed at around 35 dollar mark.

bby Stock Price Today took a plummet of -0.69% continuing the same trend of minor changes in stock prices. The price of Best Buy Co., Inc. Stocks seem to have stagnated with very little trading of their shares going on. The reasoning behind this is quite similar to what happens at other such companies such as Wall Mart; where there is a marked seasonal variation in prices as investors begin to take interest in the company’s stocks during times when sales are expected to boom and once boxing day and other clearance sales have gone by so does investor interest. Another big hit coming Best Buy’s way soon is the fact that Zynga has named David Lee an executive at Best Buy as their new CFO; this means that Best Buy will be losing one of their star performers and strategists and Lees departure could mean stocks taking another hit with little or no hopes of revival as Fourth of July Weekend comes closer.

Finally the last nail in Best Buy Co., Inc. Charts is going to be the changing dynamic of how consumer electronics are sold. While Best Buy was renowned for selling these electronics and still does to some extent sell them, however the opening up of Apple Stores around every corner and with Sony and other gadget giants opening up their own centers where electronics are sold at prices similar to or lower than what Best Buy has to offer, Best Buy Co., Inc. stocks cannot compete any longer. They are no longer cheap or able to offer competitive enough rates to attract customers to this market which means that higher ups in the company need to have a serious rethinking of strategy if the company is to be revived and bby stock prices are brought back to what they were a few years ago.

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Ford Motor Company Stock

Ford Motor Company - BidnessEtc

Ford motor companystock price today as of 10^th April is currently trading at $15.84 down 1.61% from last night’s closing price of $16.1. F stock has appreciated more than 175% in the last five years. The shares witnessed a 52 week high of $18.02 and a low of $12.65. Ford motor stock price has appreciated more than 2.5% year to date and analysts further expect the stock to gain 13% in the upcoming 12 months.

The company’s top selling vehicle F150 truck has been America’s top selling vehicle for the last 32 years. It has also been the top selling truck for around 37 years in US. According to Morgan Stanley, this situation can soon change. Tesla Motors could soon become the market leader in the US, once they start producing their own Li-ion batteries.

Tesla could more such batteries than anyone in the industry by the end of 2020. It will also be a boost for the US economy since more than 6500 people will be employed in this Mega project. So Ford could soon be taken away with the title of bestselling carmaker of the US as Tesla is expected to emerge as the next big thing in American carmaker industry. Ford needs to make sure that they continue introducing products that consumers want and high in innovation.

Ford has had a strong financial position in the recent quarters with Revenues for 4QFY13 up 25% from the comparable period last year. Their Net income for the same period rose 163%. Their Earnings are expected to grow in double digits i.e. more than 10% in the next five years.

The major problem in their fundamentals is a debt to equity ratio of 434% which means their operations are highly leveraged that is not good for the company. They have to make sure they have growth prospects and high sales of cars since they will have to pay interests on the debt. A high debt to equity ratio means there is a high repayment risk involved, so the company has to keep into account this important factor.

Ford motor stock graph has shown moderate growth in the past one year with share appreciation of more than 23%. One positive aspect about the company is that their sales from F150 truck have been increasing. We cannot ignore Ford’s dominance in the full-size truck market and moving forward, it will continue to grow as far as the trends show.

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Tesla Motors Company

Tesla Motors Inc - BidnessEtc

Tesla motors Inc. stock has been one of those stocks that recorded high gains in the current year. Despite the controversies that they have been in, including the Ban on selling their cars through retail outlets, they were bought by investors realizing the potential for growth the company has in the years to come. The intrinsic value for the company being considered by value investors is considerably high but it is trading at a much lower value. So realizing their innovative and new cars, the investors are optimistic about the company and expect it to grow organically.

Tesla motors Inc. stock price has recorded a 52 week high of $265 with a low of $40.33. Tesla’s stock market cap is around $26 billion however the market cap of Toyota which is its competitor is around $170 billion. The share price of Tesla is more than double that of Toyota which shows the optimism of investors.

Tesla Motors Inc.stock price today as of 10^th April 2014, is trading at $216.93 up 0.68% from last night’s price of $215.46. Tesla stock Graph has been volatile lately because of the negative news related to the Company. Another reason is the Earnings which have been negative for the last five quarters. So they haven’t been able to return to shareholders in the form of dividends. But why Tesla Motors stocks have witnessed record gains in their prices? It’s mainly due to the growth prospects the company has. The investors are confident about the company’s offerings that give them a competitive advantage over other rivals like Toyota.

Tesla’s cars run on battery and due to this reason, the mileage is quite impressive. Consumers looking for a stylish vehicle yet reasonably priced and with excellent mileage are the main target market for Tesla. Since last month, Tesla stock chart has witnessed a downward trend of above 9%. In the short term horizon, it will take time for the company to reflect their CAPEX in their balance sheets. They have to work on cost cutting measures and efficiency so that their Net income is positive and they start giving return to shareholders. But investors looking for long term gains who are optimistic about the company rate this stock as a buy.

Tesla Inc. news came today when the luxury car maker unveiled its plans to start selling its cars in China. China’s market has a huge potential that will give Tesla more exposure in terms of Sales and Revenues. It is expected that the sales for the Californian car maker in China will match the sales in US in the coming year.  Reacting to the news Tesla motors share price rose 1% on intra trading day.

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