FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Stratec shares fell to their lowest level since October at 37.30 euros on Tuesday following a sell recommendation from Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW). At 38.05 euros, they were still down 5.4 percent.

Analyst Volker Stoll had previously lowered his price target from 52 to 33 euros. He thus sees further price risks and downgraded the shares from "hold" to "sell". The business environment remains more difficult than expected, explained the expert. He does not expect a significant recovery in earnings in 2024 either. In addition, the starting level for margin planning and earnings quality is at an unexpectedly low level.

Stoll's assessment was a reaction to the business figures published by the diagnostics specialist on Thursday - before the long Easter weekend. The company is still feeling the effects of inventory reductions by customers who - in retrospect - ordered too much during the coronavirus pandemic and are now using up these materials for the time being.

As a result, the shares had already fallen significantly on Thursday, although Stratec's Management Board expects customer inventories to return to a normalized level by the middle of the year, meaning that a slight increase in demand will also be reflected in delivery volumes.

"After a weak first quarter, management is expecting a significant acceleration," wrote analyst Stoll in his study. "But visibility is likely to decline thereafter. We are therefore planning rather conservatively."

After a rapid rise during the coronavirus pandemic to just over 147 euros in September 2021, Stratec's share price fell again just as quickly. Only a quarter of the price at that time is now left.

The shares currently cost only around half of what they did at the start of the pandemic. A low since 2014 awaits below 36 euros./mis/edh/men