Harley-Davidson downgraded at Barclays on discounting concerns

Harley-Davidson Inc. was downgraded on Monday to underweight from equal weight at Barclays on concerns that discounting could impact bike inventories. The bank maintains its $45 price target. "In response to the favorable financing rates offered by the competition, Harley-Davidson has once again engaged in aggressive financing via Harley-Davison Financial Services," the bank wrote in a note. "All this discounting conditions consumer purchase patterns and leads to higher used bike inventories once the discounting is removed." Analysts are also concerned about heightened competition and a decline in domestic demand. Harley-Davidson shares are up 1.1% in premarket trading, but down 9.2% for the past year. THe S&P 500 Index is up 3.3% for the last 12 months.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.