Analyst: Ford Gaining Marketshare

Share of Ford Motor Company were up as much as 4.1 percent on Thursday before settling back at an increase of more than 3 percent on the trading day on projections the U.S. automaker gained market share in June.

Ford was the only U.S. major automaker to avoid bankruptcy in the financial crisis that began in 2008 and the company did not take loans from the federal government's TARP program either. The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker has earned more that $9 billion the past two years after being at the brink of bankruptcy.

The company had lost market share in North America for many years before a reveral to the trend began in the past two years as the company has found success with new products like the Ford Fusion and the Ford Focus. Ford's F-Series pickup truck also remains the bestselling vehicle in America.

Automakers are scheduled to report U.S. sales for the month of June on Friday and sales are expected to rise slightly, though some industry analysts are suggesting Ford may have increased sales more than its competitors in the U.S. in May.

Ford could likely outpace overall U.S. light vehicle sales, which we believe could 'boost' share in the near-term, wrote Buckingham Research Group analyst Joseph Amaturo in a research note.

Shares in Ford (NYSE: F) traded positively throughout the day Thursday, climbing 43 cents to $13.85 by late in the afternoon. Amaturo said pickup truck sales were expected to underperform in the auto industry for May as a whole but Ford is expected to gain further strength in that area with more attractive truck's in terms of fuel efficiency.

We expect Ford's full-size pickup sales to outpace GM's full-size pickup sales given Ford's EcoBoost V6 engine, he wrote.