Luceco PLC (LON:LUCE) shares flickered on Thursday as Berenberg withdrew its ‘buy’ rating and slashed its price target, claiming it is “hard to have any confidence” in the LED light maker.
The German investment bank moved its recommendation to ‘hold’ and wiped almost a pound from its price target to 45p (previously 135p).
Continued deterioration in the UK retail environment
Telford-based Luceco warned on profits earlier in the year due to “weak consumer confidence and a weaker dollar”, while sales across the sector were poor over the key Christmas period.
Rivals such as Dialight PLC (LON:DIA) and Photonstar LED Group PLC (LON:PSL) have also struggled over the past year or so.
“Following a continued deterioration in the UK retail environment and a string of profit warnings in the broader LED space, we find it increasingly hard to have any confidence in the near-term earnings outlook for Luceco,” Berenberg said in a note to clients.
Luceco shares dropped 4.1% on Thursday morning to 40.3p.