FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Black Friday for Dürr investors: a forecast cut caused the plant manufacturer's shares to slump by more than a fifth at times this morning. In a downward trend since the end of February, they marked the lowest level since May 2020 with the price drop to 18.54 euros.

Most recently, with a loss of more than 16 percent to 19.81 euros, they were in last place in the equally weaker MDax. Since the beginning of the year, the company has lost a good 37 percent, making it one of the biggest losers in the mid-cap index.

The reason for the cut in the forecast for 2024 is weak business in wood processing. Positive margin development in the other business areas will probably not be able to compensate for the decline in earnings in the woodworking business bundled at Homag, the group said.

Based on the truncated outlook, UBS expert Sven Weier fears that the market consensus for operating profit (Ebit) is likely to fall by around 20 percent in 2024. He continues to vote "Neutral," while other analysts stood by their buy recommendations on Friday.

Christian Glowa of Hauck Aufhäuser Investment Banking, for example, sees the price slide as a good opportunity. Although he lowered his earnings estimates for Dürr due to the weak fixed cost coverage at Homag, he assumes that the headwind for the wood processor is only temporary./ajx/tav/jha/