FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - A negative analyst comment weighed on BASF shares on Tuesday. The fundamentals of the Ludwighafen-based company do not justify the current share price, wrote analyst Gunter Zechmann of investment house Bernstein. Even if the estimates for business expectations are likely to fall, there are "soft landings" in the economies as a whole and interest rates are likely to fall, he explained and downgraded the share from "market perform" to "underperform". He cut the price target significantly by 6 euros to 39 euros.

As a result, the chemical company's share price fell by 2.3 percent to 45.68 euros, bringing it to the bottom of the DAX. It has already had a bad run since the beginning of the year and has already fallen by almost eight and a half percent since the December high just before Christmas at just under 50 euros - the highest level since April 2023.

Zechmann cut his forecasts for BASF for this and the following year and also has doubts about the chemical company's longer-term targets for margins. Even in a recovery in the sector, the share could lag behind, he wrote, and expects a correction in the share price. Accordingly, he considers the share to be well suited for a short sell position in a "pair trade" with another chemical share.

In the slightly weaker overall market, Covestro in the Dax and Lanxess in the MDax also fell slightly alongside BASF.

The shares of plastics manufacturer Covestro lost 0.1 percent to 51.78 euros and those of specialty chemicals company Lanxess 0.4 percent to 26.44 euros. Evonik fell by 1.7 percent and Wacker Chemie by 1.8 percent.

In general, uncertainty has increased again since the beginning of the new year, which is why investors tend to avoid cyclical stocks that are more dependent on economic developments in times like these./ck/bek/mis