Ford (F) (TWX) (UBSH) (FFIN) (FOLD) (KAR) Ratings, Price Targets

Ford (NYSE: F), Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), Union First Market Bankshares (NASDAQ: UBSH), First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIN), Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: FOLD) and KAR Auction Services (NYSE: KAR) ratings and price targets.

Time Warner Inc. (TWX) was downgraded by Barclays Capital (NYSE:BCS) from an “Overweight” rating to an “Equal Weight” rating.

Union First Market Bankshares (UBSH) was downgraded by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating.

Jefferies Group (NYSE:JEF) reiterated its "Buy" rating on Ford (F).

Sterne Agee reiterated its "Buy" rating on FSI (FSII) First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (FFIN).

Canaccord Genuity reiterated its "Buy" rating on FSI (FSII) Amicus Therapeutics, Inc. (FOLD).

KAR Auction Services (KAR) was upgraded by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) from a “Neutral” rating to a “Buy” rating.

QUALCOMM (QCOM) (SMSC) (STJ) (F) (FMX) (HOTT) Ratings Reiterated

QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM), Standard Microsystems Co. (NASDAQ: SMSC), St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE: STJ), Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), Fomento Economico Mexicano (NYSE: FMX) and Hot Topic Inc. (NASDAQ: HOTT) had ratings on them reiterated by analysts.

Oppenheimer reiterated its "Outperform" rating on QUALCOMM, Inc. (QCOM). They have a price target of $65.00 on the company.

Needham & Company reiterated its "Buy" rating on Standard Microsystems Co. (SMSC).

Jefferies Group (NYSE:JEF) reiterated its "Hold" rating on St. Jude Medical, Inc. (STJ). They have a price target of $38.00 on the company.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) reiterated its "Buy" rating on Ford Motor Company (F).

Zacks Investment Research reiterated its "Neutral" rating on Fomento Economico Mexicano (FMX). They have a price target of $72.00 on the company.

Zacks Investment Research reiterated its "Neutral" rating on Hot Topic Inc. (HOTT). They have a price target of $7.25 on the company.

Ford (F) (FSYS) (GM) (PAYX) (ORCL) (CCE) Ratings, Price Targets

Ford (NYSE: F), Fuel Systems Solutions (NASDAQ: FSYS), General Motors (NYSE: GM), Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX), Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) and Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) ratings and price targets.

Ford (F) is now covered by Sterne Agee. They have a “Buy” rating and a price target of $18.00 on the firm.

Fuel Systems Solutions (FSYS) is now covered by JMP Securities. They have a “Market Perform” rating on the firm.

General Motors (GM) is now covered by Sterne Agee. They have a “Buy” rating and a price target of $36.00 on the firm.

Paychex, Inc. (PAYX) had its “Neutral” rating reiterated by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS). They have a price target of $28.00 on the firm.

Oracle (ORCL) was downgraded by Canaccord Genuity from a “Buy” rating to a “Hold” rating. They have a price target of $28.00 on the firm.

Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) was upgraded by Argus from a “Hold” rating to a “Buy” rating.

Ford (F) (FDX) (MU) (OMCL) (ONXX) (FRO) Ratings Reiterated

Ford (NYSE: F), FedEx (NYSE: FDX), Micron Technology, Inc. (NYSE: MU), Omnicell, Inc. (NASDAQ: OMCL), Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX) and Frontline Ltd. (NYSE: FRO) had ratings on them reiterated by analysts.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) reiterated its "Buy" rating on Ford (F).

Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) reiterated its "Buy" rating on FedEx (FDX).

Stifel Nicolaus reiterated its "Buy" rating on Micron Technology, Inc. (MU). They have a price target of $7.50 on the company.

Auriga reiterated its "Buy" rating on Omnicell, Inc. (OMCL). They have a price target of $20.00 on the company.

Jefferies reiterated its "Buy" rating on Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ONXX).

Sterne Agee reiterated its "Neutral" rating on Frontline Ltd. (FRO).

Expedia (EXPE) (LOW) (MA) (DOW) (EMR) (F) Price Targets Changed

Expedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE), Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW), MasterCard (NYSE: MA), The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW), Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) and Ford (NYSE: F) had price targets on them adjusted by analysts.

Expedia, Inc. (EXPE) had its price target lowered by Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) to $35.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Lowe’s (LOW) had its price target raised by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) to $27.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

MasterCard (MA) had its price target raised by Citigroup (NYSE:C) to $360.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

The Dow Chemical Company (DOW) had its price target lowered by Credit Suisse to $40.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Emerson Electric Co. (EMR) had its price target raised by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) to $51.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Ford (F) had its price target lowered by Credit Suisse to $14.00. They have a “Neutral” rating on the company.

Ford (F) (GM) (TM) (HMC) Fall on China Slowdown

Shares of Ford Motor (NYSE:F), General Motors (NYSE:GM), Toyota (NYSE:TM) and Honda (NYSE:HMC) were under pressure Friday on the news that auto sales in China are slowing down.

With automakers looking to China for growth, every bit of negative news will have a significant impact on the shares of the companies.

That's not to say there's still not growth, but that growth in comparison to the last two years in the middle kingdom has slowed.

Overall vehicle sales have climbed 4 percent to 1.38 units in August. Passenger sales are up by about 6 percent for 2011 through August.

Honda was trading at $29.67, falling $0.89, or 2.91 percent, as of 11:41 AM EDT. Toyota was at $67.90, down $1.47, or 2.12 percent. General Motors was at $21.85, declining $0.63, or 2.85 percent. Ford was at $10.03, down $0.31, or 3.00 percent.

Vale (VALE) (F) (NTAP) (AXL) (DE) (JCI) Price Targets Changed

Vale (NASDAQ: VALE), Ford (NYSE: F), NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP), American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc (NYSE: AXL), Deere & Company (NYSE: DE) and Johnson Controls, Inc. (NYSE: JCI) price targets adjusted by analysts.

NetApp Inc. (NTAP) had its price target lowered by Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) to $50.00. They have an “Outperform” rating on the company.

Ford (NYSE: F) had its price target lowered by analysts at Barclays Capital from $20.00 to $15.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Vale (VALE) had its price target lowered by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) to $38.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. (AXL) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $14.00 to $12.00. They have an “Equal Weight” rating on the company.

Deere & Company (DE) had its price target lowered by UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) from $115.00 to $110.00. They have a “Buy” rating on the company.

Johnson Controls, Inc. (JCI) had its price target lowered by Barclays Capital from $49.00 to $43.00. They have an “Overweight” rating on the company.

Amazon (AMZN) (MSI) (AMD) (F) (HSY) Get New Coverage

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI), Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD), Ford (NYSE: F) and Hershey (NYSE: HSY) get new analyst coverage.

Jefferies (NYSE:JEF) initiated coverage on Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). They placed a “hold” rating and a price target of $7.50 on the company.

Caris & Company launched coverage on Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN). They placed an “above average” rating and a price target of $249.00 on the company.

Ford (NYSE: F) is now covered by analysts at RBC Capital. The analysts set an “outperform” rating and a $19.00 price target on the company.

Ticonderoga Securities started covering Hershey (HSY). They placed a “neutral” rating on the company. They cited valuation as the catalyst behind the call.

MKM Partners initiated coverage on Motorola Solutions (MSI). They placed a “neutral” rating and a price target of $40.00 on the company.

Ratings on (F) (G) (IPSU) (JBLU) Upgraded

Ratings on Ford (NYSE: F), Genpact Limited (NYSE: G), Imperial Sugar Co (NASDAQ: IPSU) and Jetblue Airways Corp (NASDAQ: JBLU) were upgraded by analysts.

Citigroup (NYSE:C) upgraded Ford (F) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $18.00 on the company.

UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) upgraded Genpact Limited (G) from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $21.00 on the company, up from $15.00.

BWS Financial upgraded Imperial Sugar Co (IPSU) from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating. They have a price target of $24.00 on the company.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) upgraded Jetblue Airways Corp (JBLU) from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating.

Amazon.com (AMZN) (CMI) (F) (RFMD) (UA) Get EPS Changes from Analysts

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Cummins (NYSE: CMI), Ford (NYSE: F), RF Micro Device (NASDAQ: RFMD) and Under Armour, Inc. (NYSE: UA) get EPS changes from analysts.

Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) raised their EPS on Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN). They have a “Neutral” rating and a EPS target of $3.63 on the Internet retailer. They previously had a $4.84 EPS estimate on the company.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) raised their EPS estimate on Cummins (CMI). They have a “Buy” rating and a price target of $150 on them.

Goldman Sachs boosted its EPS estimate shares of Ford (F). They have a “Buy” rating on them and a price target of $20.

UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) lowered their EPS estimates on RF Micro Device (RFMD). They have a “Neutral” rating and a $6.50 price target on the firm.

Goldman Sachs raised their EPS estimate on Under Armour, Inc. (UA). They have a “Neutral” rating and a price target of $67 on the company.

Toyota (TM) Slowing or Cutting Production Everywhere

Parts shortage from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan continues to hurt the auto sector, with Toyota (NYSE:TM) probably experiencing the worst of the damage, as parts shortages are resulting in its having to shut or cut back on production across the globe, with Europe and China being the latest added to the list.

On Tuesday Toyota said it will extend its production cuts at its factories in North America to the early part of June, suggesting shortages of models at Toyota dealerships.

In Europe there will be an eight-day halt in production for the same reasons.

The automaker added China will also experience a reduction in production from a lack of some parts. China factories will run at about 50 percent capacity through June 5.

Domestically, Toyota resumed car production at all of its plants in on Monday, but they will run at half capacity as well because of parts shortages.

Ford (NYSE:F), General Motors (NYSE:GM), Honda (NYSE:HMC) and Nissan have also said they're cutting back to one level or another at a number of their plants.

Toyota was trading at $77.09, up $0.97, or 1.27 percent, as of 2:21 PM EDT.

Run from (F) (GM) (TM) HMC) Says Citigroup (C)

Saying the supply chain of the auto industry is damaged worst than being accounted for by investors, Citigroup (NYSE:C) recommends investors to stay away from auto stocks like Ford (NYSE:F), Toyota Motors (NYSE:TM), Honda Motor Company (NYSE:HMC) and General Motors (NYSE:GM).

Citigroup said, “While some investors may be tempted to position for a recovery in H2 and out, the full extent of damage to the supply chain and production disruption from the power outages [in Japan (NYSE:EWJ)] is being underestimated by the market, and we would avoid the sector as things stand.”

The giant bank has updated their ratings on the major automakers to "Sell."

I think in this case, as far as the disruptions in parts supply, Citigroup is right. It just sounds too positive out there, as if with a wave of the hand everything will just turn around and Japan will quickly right itself. We'll find out soon enough. The supple issue needs to be watched much more closely by investors, and that will probably only be known by shutdowns, as the auto industry in many cases still won't reveal what parts are in fact they're having trouble getting.

On a secondary note, investors in Sirius XM (NASDAQ:SIRI) need to include this as part of their decision-making process, as Sirius is totally dependent upon the health of the auto industry for its own growth.

Ford was trading at $15.36, falling $0.16, or 1.06 percent, as of 1:20 PM EDT. Toyota was at $78.10, gaining $0.89, or 1.15 percent. Honda was trading at $34.75, up $0.55, or 1.61 percent. General Motors was down to $31.69, dropping $0.62, or 1.92 percent.

Ford (F) Building Digital Child Crash Dummies

With the goal of building better safety features in its vehicles, Ford Motor (NYSE:F) said they've launched research into one of the world’s first digital human child body models.

“We study injury trends in the field, and we know that traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for people from age 1 to 34,” said Dr. Steve Rouhana, Senior Technical Leader for Safety, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering. “We want to better understand how injuries to younger occupants may be different.”

“Our restraint systems are developed to help reduce serious injuries and fatalities in the field, and they have proven to be very effective,” Rouhana added. “But crash injuries still occur. The more you know about the human body, the more we can consider how to make our restraint systems even better."

“A child’s body is very different from an adult’s. Building a digital human model of a child will help us design future systems that offer better protection for our young passengers.”

Ford closed Wednesday at $15.73, falling $0.06, or 0.38 percent.

Microsoft (MSFT), Toyota (TM) in Azure Deal

A deal has been landed between Microsoft (NYSE:MSFT) and Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) which will result in the Japanese company using the Windows Azure platform in its cars.

As part of the agreement, the two companies will invest about $12 million in Toyota Media Service Co., a Toyota Motors subsidiary that offers digital information services to owners of Toyota vehicles.

The Azure platform is already being used by Toyota for its Lexus roadside and crash assistance service.

Azure is a cloud computing operating system which will give Toyota owners computing services within the vehicle.

Microsoft has a similar deal in place with Ford (NYSE:F) concerning the development of a service called Sync.

Toyota Motor was trading at $77.55, falling $0.08, or 0.10 percent, as of 2:35 PM EDT. Microsoft was trading at $26.17, gaining $0.39, or 1.51 percent.

Ford's (F) CEO Gets Pay Increase of 48 Percent

Ford Motor Co (NYSE:F) Chief Executive Alan Mulally has had his overall compensation package boosted by 48 percent to $26.5 million in 2010, on the heels of the company's best net profit performance in 10 years.

Not only has Mulally received credit for turning things around, but for doing in the throes of the worst economic downturn in America since the Great Depression. Add to that his ability to do it without being bailed out by the U.S. government like General Motors (NYSE:GM) and Chrysler had to be, and it's an even more impressive accomplishment.

While the union is already whining about this, much of the problems in the auto industry are the result of them being overpaid, pushing the price of vehicles up beyond the ability of consumers to pay.

Any time there is a bump in the economy, the auto industry is crushed because of that fact.

Now wages and benefits are finally falling to the place where it may be manageable and sustainable over time.

What the unions need to do is thank Mulally for saving their rear-ends in spite of them being the problem.

Executive chairman Bill Ford also had a big bump up in compensation, rising 57 percent to $26.4 million. That includes a salary of $4.8 million. Some of that salary was deferred from 2008 and 2009.

For Mulally and Ford, each had a base salary of $1.4 million in 2010, which will jump to $2 million in 2011.

Dangers Ford (F) (GM) (TM) (HMC) Face

Even though March was a decent Month for auto makers when compared to last year, Ford (NYSE:F), General Motors (NYSE:GM), Toyota (NYSE:TM) and Honda (NYSE:HMC), among others are facing even more of a challenge because of those decent performances than they had if it has been slower.

The major problem is March isn't the typical big month in Auto sales, so while percentages of growth are a legitimate barometer of growth, it's not when measured against more important sales months like April.

So the success in March will probably become disaster in April, as parts shortage and skyrocketing gas prices are going to be challenges they may not be able to successfully navigate.

For example, even though parts were an issue in March, it wasn't as much as it'll be in April, as parts were already in process of being delivered in March when the earthquake hit Japan. April should see more slowdowns and cutbacks in production as a result, as evidenced by Ford shutting two of its plants down for a week each.

What is unknown is whether or not the American consumer will choose to use their tax refunds to acquire new vehicles in the midst of the type of high gas price environment we face.

Add to that the uncertainty concerning parts and April is a big question mark for the industry even with it having decent sales in March.

Toyota (TM) Falters in March Sales

Among the major auto companies, Toyota (NYSE:TM) is the only one among them with the dubious distinction of experiencing a year-over-year decline in sales.

While General Motors (NYSE:GM) didn't have a great March either, it was somewhat expected because of its dropping of a number of industry-high incentives, which was eating into its margins and earnings.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) had a decent month, beating out General Motors in sales for March.

Toyota's sales fell to 176,222 vehicles for the month, down from 186,863 they sold in March 2010. Sales of light trucks and SUVs dropped 15 percent and 23 percent in March 2011.

Honda (NYSE:HMC) enjoyed a boost in sales, rising to 133,650, a gain of 23 percent.

Honda closed Friday at $36.82, falling $0.69, or 1.84 percent. Toyota closed at $80.51, gaining $0.26, or 0.32 percent.

Ford (F) Shutting Down Belgian Plant to Conserve Parts

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) announced it will shut down its plant in Genk, Belgium, starting on April 4, in order to conserve parts after the earthquake in Japan has disrupted the supply chain for the majority of auto companies.

Ford spokesman Todd Nissen said, "Given the current situation in Japan, we took this as a precautionary measure. To be clear, we haven't experienced any plant disruptions as a result of a parts shortage at this point."

I'm not sure why Ford continues to assert it hasn't experinenced any plat disruptions, especially after the idle a plant for a week. If that's not a disruption, what is?

Nissen added that the purpose of the plant shutdown would be "to ensure we have sufficient parts availability."

The company had originally planned to shut down the plant in May.

Other "non-disruptions" Ford is experiencing is they have stopped taking orders for a certain black pigment and three red colors as well.

The plant Ford is shutting down builds S-MAX and Galaxy minivans and the Mondeo sedan.

Ford closed Friday at $15.01, dropping $0.03, or 0.20 percent.

Ford (F) Not Taking Orders for Black, Red Vehicles

Ford Motor (NYSE:F) dealers were told by the company they can no longer take orders from customers wanting black and three shades of red, citing uncertainty as to availability because of the earthquake in Japan.

Vehicles which will be affected by the decision are the Taurus, Focus and Lincoln MKS sedans, along with the Explorer, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator sport-utility vehicles, according to Ford spokesman Todd Nissen.

“There’s a potential we could see some shortages of this pigment,” Nissen said. “At this point, we have adequate inventory on the ground to meet customer demand. We’re working to find alternative suppliers.”

Ford closed Thursday at $15.04, gaining $0.73, or 5.10 percent.

Ford (F), GM (GM), Toyota (TM) Challenged by Parts Shortage

It'll be at least several months of off-and-on part shortages the major auto makers like Ford (NYSE:F), GM (NYSE:GM) and Toyota (NYSE:TM) will have to endure, adding to an already tough parts supply situation they've experienced over the last year or so.

While the shortages are expected to be sporadic and unpredictable, when added to prior shortages, it could be a significant factor in some of the models sold by the auto makers, especially those that are moving slower.

The thought is the companies will probably focus their parts strategy on faster moving vehicles and only the parts left over after that will be applied to other models.

Production for top models shouldn't be impacted by the parts shortage, but expectations are it will definitely affect the margins of the companies for the duration of the shortage.

Ford Motor closed Tuesday at $14.34, falling $0.25, or 1.71 percent. General Motors closed at $30.74, dropping $0.54, or 1.73 percent. Toyota Motors ended the session at $83.00, down $0.75, or 0.90 percent.