(new: feedback from the conference call added, share price development updated)

FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX Broker) - The already unsurprising lowering of the annual targets left investors in Infineon completely cold on Tuesday. With a jump of 13.5 percent to 36.60 euros, the shares of the semiconductor company reached their highest level since the beginning of the year in the afternoon. After it had looked like losses beforehand, they instead made it above their long-term average lines right at the Xetra start.

After not only competitor STMicro had recently deviated from its original forecasts in a more skeptical outlook, investors could expect something similar at Infineon. Accordingly, the question was rather: Is this the last cut?

Analyst Janardan Menon from the investment bank Jefferies believes that any further cuts would be very moderate at best, but that the current outlook could just as easily prove to be too conservative. In any case, the destocking in the automotive and industrial sectors is probably nearing completion. In view of Infineon's strong long-term prospects, Menon advised investors to take advantage of any weakness in the share price to buy.

According to expert Sara Russo from Bernstein, shareholders now have a good idea of the "bottom" of the forecasts after the renewed lowering of the annual targets. Moreover, the signs are pointing to a cyclical recovery. This is supported not only by the signals for the third quarter, but also by a strong upturn in the last quarter of the year, which is necessary for the annual targets. Thus reassured, investors are likely to look beyond 2024 to the long-term growth trends, according to Russo.

One expert then emerged from the conference call on the quarterly report in high spirits. In his view, the management has made it clear that the bottom has been reached. The fact that the three largest processor manufacturers now rely on Infineon's chips in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) was also extremely well received. In the case of Nvidia, in particular, there had previously been a lack of certainty./ag/mis