Agrana ratings downgraded

Analyst Martina Valenta of Erste Bank downgrades Agrana AG (AGB1) from "hold"to "reduce,"while reducing her estimates for the company. The target price has been reduced from €72.40 to €54.00.

In a research note published this morning, the analyst mentions that the company has posted its 1Q08/09 EBIT significantly short of the estimates on account of high margin pressure in the sugar and starch divisions and high corn and energy prices.