Jeffries said the outlook for General Motors and Ford Motor Co. is improving and it’s time to enter the stock market. The bank upgraded both automakers to pending buy status. They also raised their price target for General Motors from $90 to $99, which would represent a nearly 20% upside from Friday’s closing price. Analyst Philippe Huchois said the driver for GM’s upgrade was the company’s second-quarter report, which included earnings and sales upside and an upgraded outlook for 2026. “(Full-year) pricing was raised to +0.5%, at the high end of previous expectations, while hinting at some weakness (in the second half) to ensure inventories are low for truck launches (at the end of the year). GM has made meaningful progress on warranties ( 500 million in the first half, with more expected in the third quarter and less in the fourth quarter, Chief Financial Officer (Paul) Jacobson had anticipated in a previous meeting,” he wrote to clients. Uchova added that despite concerns about the status of the USMCA trade deal and oil prices, U.S. policy is moving GM’s earnings in a less risky direction. Jefferies also raised its price target on Ford to $17.50 from $14.50, representing an almost 22% upside from Friday’s closing price. Yuchova thinks that’s the case with Ford. Aluminum supplier Novelis last month restarted production at its New York plant, where it plans to supply Ford’s F-150 truck line, but said “management expects to release an earnings report in the second quarter given healthy U.S. market conditions.” According to LSEG data, 17 out of 24 analysts rate Ford stock a “buy” or “strong buy,” while 22 out of 31 analysts rate it a “buy” or “strong buy.”
