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British bank Barclays underperforms for the second day in a row tofeature among the worst-performing stocks on the UK's benchmark FTSE 100 index after several analysts cut their price targets on the stock a day afterBarclays reported lower profits.
Barclays is down by 0.7 percent at 262.98 pence in early session trading,adding to a 3.8 percent fall a day earlier. The stock underperforms a 0.2percent rise on the FTSE 100 and a 1 percent gain on the STOXX Europe 600Banking Index.
Trading volumes in Barclays come in at around 0.3 times of the stock'saverage 90-day volume, although they still stand above the average for the FTSE100, where volumes come in around 0.2 times the index's average 90-day volume.
On Tuesday, Barclays reported a fall in profits and said it would axe up to12,000 jobs this year while also raising bonuses for investment bankers.
However, traders said Barclays' management had a hard time trying toconvince analysts during a conference call on Tuesday about its cost-cutting andrestructuring plans.
Analysts at UBS cut their price target on Barclays to 280 pence from 295pence while maintaining a "neutral" rating on the stock. JP Morgan also cuts itsprice target on Barclays, to 300 pence from 315 pence, but keeps its"overweight" rating.
"The trend on Barclays over the last few months has been going down," saysDafydd Davies, senior trader at Prime Markets in London. "Two down days don'tmake a buying opportunity. I wouldn't want to be buying it here as it would belike trying to catch a falling knife," he adds.
Barclays' shares have fallen by nearly 4 percent since the start of 2014,underperforming a 4 percent rise on the STOXX Europe 600 Banking Index.
Reuters messaging rm://sudip.kargupta.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net
