** Citigroup downgrades wireless carrier T-Mobile TMUS.O to "neutral" from "buy"

** Says the market is giving company a lot of credit for its strong operating and competitive position that should sustain better financial growth than its large-cap competitors over the next few years

** "In a market that is becoming more defensive, we believe TMUS shares can have an upward bias from the current level, but we simply see greater upside for the rest of the large-cap communications category (including AT&T, Verizon, Comcast)," brokerage says

** The downgrade is on valuation and not on fundamentals, Citi says

** Twenty of 30 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 9 "hold" and 1 "sell"; median PT is $265 - data compiled by LSEG

** TMUS stock up nearly 17.4% YTD, as of last close; Shares rose around 37.7% in 2024

(Reporting by Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru)

((Ateev.Bhandari@thomsonreuters.com))