Toyota to Increase Production so time to Buy?

Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE:TM) is boosting its Japanese production by 30% in May in order to replenish inventories, does this sounds like a car company in trouble?  TM shares closed at $63 Friday with a 52-week range of $55 to $113.

Toyota now holds the crown as the world's largest automaker and has a decent balance sheet that looks nothing like its dying U.S. rivals.  From a quick investor perspective, Toyota Motor has a P/E of 14.9 and forward P/E of 12.8, that sounds great but going on P/E these days isn't what it used to be.  We are facing a global recession and nobody is buying new cars. But if you are in the market for a new car, a vehicle made by Toyota is on most American's shopping list.

Then there's the point of view that the yen's sudden drop over the last week or so is delivering a glimmer of
hope to Japan's big exporters, whose earnings have been battered by
both plunging demand and the strong yen.  The yen's drop lifted the dollar to 97.87 yen Thursday afternoon in Tokyo — its highest since mid-November — jumping 9% from 90 yen two weeks ago. That's great news for Toyota because a weaker yen inflates their foreign income when repatriated to Japan.

One reason I'm considering picking up Toyota -- the Prius and their lineup of Hybrid cars, they are the best and only Honda comes close to what Toyota has to offer.

The market is flooded with gas/electric hybrid vehicles--the Ford Escape, Nissan Altima, Chevrolet Silverado--but the good ol' Toyota Prius still takes the top spot, according to the Consumer Reports Annual Auto Issue. 

So now will the analysts get onboard the Toyota Motor train?  Fast Money's Jeff Macke suggesting going long on Toyota yesterday, you can't help but think this is going to help TM shareholders come Monday.  Macke is one of the few traders on that show that is credible and entertaining when he speaks, and just like E.F. Hutton, people listen when he speaks.

Happy trading come Monday and here's a throwback to E.F. Hutton, which was eventually merged into the mess that is Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C):