FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Investors in Carl Zeiss Meditec had nothing to laugh about on Monday in view of a more pessimistic assessment of the medical technology company for the 2023/24 financial year. The shares accelerated their downward slide, which had already begun in mid-March, with a drop in the double-digit percentage range to almost 75 euros at times. They thus fell to their lowest level since the end of October.

Analysts at JPMorgan had already considered the company's annual targets to be potentially at risk at the end of May. According to Carl Zeiss Meditec, the recovery in the device business is proceeding more slowly than expected.

Most recently, the shares, which were also at the bottom of the weaker MDax mid-cap index, lost 9.5 percent to 76.30 euros. They have lost around 23% since the beginning of the year. The MDax is down a good six percent so far in 2024.

Analyst Jack Reynolds-Clark from the Canadian bank RBC called the forecast cut a disappointment. The expert emphasized the weaker than expected development in April and May, especially in China and North America. The market estimates are now likely to fall sharply, by more than 30 percent for the operating result (EBIT) alone. However, Reynolds-Clark pointed out that many investors had already been expecting Carl Zeiss Meditec to row back since the half-year figures./ajx/niw/mis