FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The shares of Deutsche Bank subsidiary DWS weakened on Wednesday morning following a downgrade by the Metzler bank. Their price fell on the Tradegate trading platform by 0.6 percent to 40.86 euros compared to the Xetra close, while the overall market remained stable.

Metzler analyst Jochen Schmitt raised his price target slightly from 41.00 to 41.40 euros, but no longer sees sufficient room for a buy recommendation. He therefore downgraded the shares from "buy" to "hold". The profit prospects of the asset manager are adequately priced into the share price, the expert wrote in a study. In addition, the company's earnings per share target for 2025 appears ambitious, although not unattainable.

DWS shares have already risen by a good 18 percent this year alone; since the interim low at the end of October, the price gains have amounted to almost 55 percent./mis/jha/