Wall Street Analysts See Sea Limited (SE) as a Buy: Should You Invest?

Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the reliability of brokerage recommendations, particularly focusing on Sea Limited Sponsored ADR (SE), and highlights the potential misalignment of interests between brokerage analysts and retail investors [1][5][10]. Brokerage Recommendations - Sea Limited has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.52, indicating a consensus between Strong Buy and Buy, based on 22 brokerage firms [2]. - Out of the 22 recommendations, 15 are Strong Buy (68.2%) and 2 are Buy (9.1%) [2]. Limitations of Brokerage Recommendations - Solely relying on brokerage recommendations for investment decisions may not be advisable, as studies show they often fail to guide investors effectively [5]. - Analysts from brokerage firms tend to exhibit a strong positive bias in their ratings, issuing five "Strong Buy" recommendations for every "Strong Sell" [6][10]. Zacks Rank Comparison - Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock rating tool, categorizes stocks from 1 (Strong Buy) to 5 (Strong Sell) and is based on earnings estimate revisions, which correlate strongly with near-term stock price movements [8][11]. - The Zacks Rank is distinct from ABR, as it is a quantitative model and is updated more frequently to reflect current business trends [9][12]. Current Earnings Estimates for Sea Limited - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Sea Limited's current year earnings remains unchanged at $4.23, suggesting stable analyst views on the company's earnings prospects [13]. - Due to the unchanged consensus estimate and other factors, Sea Limited holds a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold), indicating a cautious approach despite the Buy-equivalent ABR [14].