Goldman Sachs and UBS Warburg both cut their forecasts and target prices for Vodafone, the UK mobile phone operator, just days before the two banks managed the company's record breaking £3.5bn (€5.6bn) equity issue last week.

The downgrade on the stock provided a rare moment of encouragement for institutional investors, who have recently become jaundiced over the perceived lack of independence of analysts' research. Between them, investment bankers at Goldman and UBS Warburg have earned tens of millions of pounds in the past few years on the back of Vodafone's acquisition spree.