Diageo shares lost ground on Friday, penalized by unfavorable comments from analysts at Deutsche Bank, who lowered their estimates for the British spirits group.

In a study published this morning, the financial intermediary explained that it had reduced its earnings forecasts for the alcoholic beverage giant due to weak business in both Europe and the United States.

Deutsche Bank - which is maintaining its 'sell' recommendation on the stock - has thus lowered its target price for the company from 2,400 to 2,300 pence.

The analysts justify their decision by the recent performance of the company's closest comparables and the latest industry data.

Our forecasts now reflect a more cautious view of the US and Europe, and we now anticipate a significant deterioration in organic sales growth in North America in the second half of the year", they stress.

Deutsche points out that this assumption is at odds with the annual targets provided by Diageo.

Given the current adverse factors and limited visibility, we believe it would be more prudent to abandon the medium-term organic growth target of between 5% and 7% as soon as possible", concludes the intermediary.

Following these comments, Diageo shares lost 0.7% on the London Stock Exchange on Friday, bringing their decline over the last three months to over 6%.

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