Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) stock is falling this morning after the company reported it lost $2.7 billion, or $1.30 per share in the fourth quarter. Excluding items, Ford's losses were only slightly worse than analysts' expectations of -$0.19. The company added it will be adjusting production and making further cost reductions in North America this year, including a new round of buyouts for its 54,000 hourly workers in the U.S. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on Ford.

After hitting a one-year high of $9.70 in June, the stock hit a one-year low of $5.50 on Tuesday. This morning, Ford opened at $6.40. So far today the stock has hit a low of $6.16 and a high of $6.40. As of 10:20, Ford is trading at $6.16, down $0.14 (-2.2%). The chart for Ford looks bearish and steady, while S&P gives the stock a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold rating.

For a bearish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a March bear-call credit spread above the $7 range. A bear-call credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of call options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make an 11.1% return in two months as long as Ford is below $7 at March expiration. Ford would have to rise by more than 13% before we would start to lose money.

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