FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - On Friday, Siltronic almost completely made up for the price slide triggered by a forecast cut in the course of trading. In addition to bargain hunters, the overall positive sentiment in the broad technology sector provided support: The US selection index Nasdaq 100, which is peppered with the corresponding stocks, benefited from the significant price gains of the heavyweights Alphabet, Nvidia and Microsoft before the weekend. The resulting positive sentiment in the sector also spilled over to Europe: the sub-index of technology stocks in the broad-based Stoxx Europe 600 rose by almost two percent.

In an initial reaction to the profit warning, the wafer manufacturer's shares fell by almost 11% to EUR 68.50 in the early afternoon, their lowest level since July 2023. From here, however, they soon began to climb again - at 76.05 euros, the loss at the close of trading was just under 1 percent. Since the beginning of the year, Siltronic shares have lost 14 percent, making it one of the weaker stocks in the MDax, the index of medium-sized German stock market companies.

Due to the continuing weakness in demand, the company revised its annual targets downwards in the early afternoon. It now expects a decline in sales of around ten percent and a fall in the margin before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA margin) to between 21 and 25 percent. Previously, Siltronic had forecast sales and an EBITDA margin in the order of magnitude of the previous year, with the margin additionally burdened by up to three percentage points by the start-up costs of a new factory. Group earnings in 2023 amounted to a good 1.5 billion euros, with an EBITDA margin of 28.7 percent.

UBS analyst Harry Blaiklock commented that the further lowered outlook was evidence of the ongoing pressure on demand from high inventories. He had already identified ongoing risks to the outlook when it was last updated in February. The new targets imply a ten percent cut in the sales consensus and a 20 percent cut in EBITDA. The expert maintained his "sell" recommendation for the share with a price target of EUR 74, which is above the current valuation level.