FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Profit taking following the withdrawal of a buy recommendation weighed on the shares of Hensoldt on Friday. The shares of the defense electronics group fell by 2.1 percent to 42.70 euros in a weak environment. The MDax mid-cap index lost 1.5 percent.

The analyst firm Warburg Research downgraded the Hensoldt shares from "buy" to "hold" and left the target price at 39.50 euros. The recently acquired military services provider ESG is unlikely to make a positive contribution before 2028, wrote expert Christian Cohrs. In this respect, the deal is a smart step to complement the offering, but will not add value in the short term.

Hensoldt shares have risen by almost 83 percent since the beginning of the year, while the MDax has fallen by just under one percent.

With a "Hold" rating, Warburg Research expects the share price to remain largely stable over the next twelve months. In the absence of new impetus and presumably uninspiring results for the first quarter, the impressive share price rally is likely to run out of steam soon, the expert summarized./la/jha/