When deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold a stock, investors often rely on analyst recommendations. Media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm-employed (or sell-side) analysts often influence a stock’s price, but are they really important?
Let’s take a look at what these Wall Street heavyweights have to say about K12 (NYSE:LRN) before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage.
K12 currently has an average brokerage recommendation of 1.40, on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by five brokerage firms. An ABR of 1.40 approximates between Strong Buy and Buy.
Of the five recommendations that derive the current ABR, four are Strong Buy, representing 80% of all recommendations.
Brokerage Recommendation Trends for LRN
While the ABR calls for buying K12, it may not be wise to make an investment decision solely based on this information. Several studies have shown limited to no success of brokerage recommendations in guiding investors to pick stocks with the best price increase potential.
Do you wonder why? As a result of the vested interest of brokerage firms in a stock they cover, their analysts tend to rate it with a strong positive bias. According to our research, brokerage firms assign five
Is It Worth Investing in K12 Based on Wall Street’s Bullish Views?
