Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp. was downgraded to ``sell'' at Deutsche Bank AG, which set a share-price estimate of zero, and was cut to ``underweight'' at Barclays Capital.

GM fell 12 percent to $3.83 at 8:55 a.m. before regular New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The biggest U.S. automaker said Nov. 8 it may not have enough cash to keep operating this year and will be ``significantly short'' by the end of June unless the auto market improves or it adds capital.

``Even if GM succeeds in averting a bankruptcy, we believe that the company's future path is likely to be bankruptcy- like,'' Rod Lache, a Deutsche Bank analyst in New York, wrote in a research note, lowering his recommendation from ``hold.''

Barclays set a share-price target of $1 in dropping its rating on Detroit-based GM from ``equal weight.''

``While further government assistance would decrease the likelihood of a GM bankruptcy, we believe any government assistance would likely significantly dilute GM's equity,'' Brian Johnson, a Barclays analyst, wrote in a research note.

GM plunged 82 percent before today, the most of any of the 30 companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

To contact the reporters on this story: Sarah Thompson in London at sthompson17@bloomberg.net; Sarah Jones in London at sjones35@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 10, 2008 08:57 EST