UPDATE: Maxim Downgrades Youku Tudou to Sell, Sets $24.00 Target

Youku Tudou Inc

was downgraded from Hold to Sell by Maxim Group Wednesday morning. The firm's Echo He set a $24 price target on the stock. In the note, He cited “intensified competition may prevent YOKU from adding customers and raising rates.” The analyst believes in order to maintain revenue growth, Youku, “may have to continue to spend on bandwidth, content, and sales & marketing.” Youku will likely report fourth quarter 2013 results at the end of February or early March. He does “not expect any surprises for the quarter," but noted “earnings in the next few quarters will likely be lower than we previously expected.” Shares opened lower at $31.37 and have since traded down further; with about four hours left in the trading session, the stock is down about 3.3 percent to $30.90.