Ford Hot On Social Media As 'Gymkhana 8' Circulates

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is getting more traction on social media as Ken Block's Gymkhana EIGHT video uploaded on Ford Performance's YouTube page has garnered more than 3.5 million views.

In the latest video, driver Ken Block performed some daring stunts with his Ford Fiesta.

Gymkhana is a type of motorsport, where a driver must maneuver through a predetermined "track" performing many different driving techniques.

What separates gymkhana from traditional autocross events is that it requires drivers to perform reversals, 180 degree spins, 360 degree spins, parking boxes, figure 8s, and other advanced skills.

Auto news site Jalopnik said the following on the Gymkhana 8 video:

"There's something intensely satisfying about this Ford Fiesta rally car putting every supercar to shame in this film. Block's nimble hoon-pod of a car runs actual circles around the hard-parked supercars of Dubai. Of course, it's hard to compare a purpose-built rally beast to a road car, but cars are meant to be used."

Related Link: Morgan Stanley Urges A Cautious Approach To Auto Industry Growth

Wall Street Also Impressed

Meanwhile, Ford has not only impressed fans but also the Street with its strong fundamentals that led Buckingham analyst Joseph Amaturo to reiterate his Buy rating the stock and $18 price target on Wednesday.

That suggests about 38 percent upside from the current levels. The analyst's price target is based on the North America earnings generated in a 17.6 million unit U.S. light vehicle sales environment.

"We believe in a 16M U.S. light vehicle sales environment (down 8% from 2015), Ford could generate ~$1.50 in EPS or ~$4.0B in FCF (~$1.00 in FCF per share or a ~10% FCF yield)," Amaturo said in a client note.

"More optimistically, we believe that if overall U.S. light vehicle sales approximate 17M – 17.6M units, Ford could earn $2.16 in EPS with FCF of $6.8B (~$1.70 in FCF/share). That level of FCF generation, would imply a FCF yield of ~17%, which historically has been a strong buy signal," Amaturo added.

For the month of February, Ford sold 217,192 vehicles, up 20 percent over last year, mainly driven by higher sales to rental car fleets. Ford's luxury Lincoln brand sales grew 30 percent and sales of its F-Series pickup rose 10 percent.

Ford brand SUVs post best-ever February sales as Edge increased 91 percent, Explorer jumped 18 percent and Escape gained 14 percent.