sentiment

With crude prices - and thereby gasoline prices - hitting record levels, the decline in SUV and truck sales comes as no surprise. However, F is beginning to make inroads with its Focus and Fusion cars. The company is far from Toyota's (TM) numbers, but it seems to have an edge on GM due to the ongoing restructuring by CEO Allen Mulally.

Technically speaking, F continues to defy the skeptics. The shares have rallied more than 71% since mid-March along the support of their 10-day and 20-day moving averages. The stock has taken out former resistance at the 8 level, and appears poised to challenge its near-term high in the 9 region in short order. What's more, there is ample gas in the tank to push F above this overhead resistance. The stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.35 ranks above 92% of all those taken during the past year, and short interest accounts for more than 12.5% of the stock's total float.

And, if analysts get involved, there is also room for upgrades from the brokerage bunch. According to Zacks.com, 10 of the 11 analysts following F rate the shares a "hold" or worse. An unwinding of this heavy pessimistic sentiment could provide additional buying power for F, thus sending the shares steadily higher.