Sony shares slid to a five-week low today after it cut its profit target due to sharply falling prices of televisions and other key products.
Sony's shares fell nearly 5 per cent to 3,760 yen, their lowest since December 8th.
Last night Sony cut its full-year group operating profit forecast by 31 per cent to 110 billion yen ($1.06 billion) and lowered its sales target by nearly 3 per cent , citing price erosion in flat TVs, DVD recorders and camcorders.
It also cited slack sales in the portable audio business, where it has been outmanoeuvred by Apple and its popular iPod music player, and sluggish demand for image capturing chips as growth in the digital camera market slows.
Some industry analysts have said Sony's earnings targets were unrealistic and a Sony executive told Reuters in an interview last week that profits in the TV unit in the October-December quarter were below expectations due to steep price falls.
Goldman Sachs analyst Mr Yuji Fujimori called Sony's revision a "negative surprise" but said the near-term downside for the stock would be limited to around 3,800 yen because of technical buying related to convertible bonds due to mature at the end of March.