US investment bank Jefferies has cut its price target for Israeli liner company Zim to $27 from $55 per share in acknowledgement of the weaker freight market ahead.

But with a cash position of some $3bn that is close to the size of Zim’s market capitalisation, it would take two years of rock-bottom rates of $1,200 per teu for the operator to burn through its reserves, according to Jefferies lead shipping analyst Omar Nokta.