Shares in Beiersdorf (BEIG.DE) fall 5.1 percent, the biggest fallers among German large caps .GDAXI, after second-quarter bottom-line results from the maker of Nivea cosmetics miss consensus and the company maintains its cautious outlook for 2009.

Nivea, a Beiersdorf brand

"Beiersdorf reported second quarter results which are roughly in line with consensus with regard to sales and EBIT, but slightly lower than our expectations with regard to profitability," WestLB analyst Michael Gorny says in a note to clients. WestLB downgrades its rating for Beiersdorf to "neutral" from "add", largely due to valuation grounds.

Credit Suisse says that the company's financials also appear negative as Beiersdorf did not generate any interest in the second quarter despite its strong net cash position.

UBS analyst Eva Quiroga points to the company's continued cautious outlook and says unlike a number of its competitors, Beiersdorf faces particularly tough year-on-year comparables in the third-quarter, making visibility even more limited.