Jefferies cuts Cleveland-Cliffs rating to 'hold'; shares down

Shares of steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs CLF.N fall 2% to $5.82

Jefferies downgrades rating to "hold" from "buy", lowers price target to $6 from $10

New PT implies a 1% upside from stock's last close

Nippon Steel's 5401.T ~$10 bln investment in U.S. Steel's X.N current operations would likely negatively affect medium-term steel market fundamentals as it could lead to higher volumes and lower costs - brokerage

"With high fixed cost blast furnace assets and nearly $8 bln in net debt, Cliffs is most leveraged to changes in finished steel price" - Jefferies

Four of 14 brokerages rate CLF stock "buy", eight "hold" and 2 "sell" or lower; median PT is $8.50 - data compiled by LSEG

Including session moves, shares down 38.2% YTD