Investors often turn to recommendations made by Wall Street analysts before making a Buy, Sell, or Hold decision about a stock. While media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm employed (or sell-side) analysts often affect a stock's price, do they really matter?Before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage, let's see what these Wall Street heavyweights think about Caterpillar (CAT) .Caterpillar currently has an average brokerage recommen ...

Core Viewpoint - Wall Street analysts' recommendations significantly influence stock prices, but their reliability is questionable due to potential biases stemming from brokerage firms' vested interests [1][6][11]. Brokerage Recommendations for Equinix (EQIX) - Equinix has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.53, indicating a consensus between Strong Buy and Buy, based on 31 brokerage firms' recommendations [2]. - Of the 31 recommendations, 21 are Strong Buy (67.7%) and 3 are Buy (9.7%) [2]. Limitations of Brokerage Recommendations - Solely relying on ABR for investment decisions may not be wise, as studies show limited success in guiding investors towards stocks with the highest price increase potential [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][11]. Zacks Rank as an Alternative - Zacks Rank categorizes stocks into five groups based on earnings estimate revisions, providing a more reliable indicator of near-term stock performance compared to ABR [8][12]. - The Zacks Rank is timely and reflects current earnings estimates, unlike the potentially outdated ABR [13]. Current Earnings Estimates for Equinix - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Equinix remains unchanged at $38.51 for the current year, suggesting stable analyst views on the company's earnings prospects [14]. - Due to the unchanged consensus estimate, Equinix holds a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold), indicating a cautious approach despite the Buy-equivalent ABR [15].

Investors often turn to recommendations made by Wall Street analysts before making a Buy, Sell, or Hold decision about a stock. While media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm employed (or sell-side) analysts often affect a stock's price, do they really matter?Let's take a look at what these Wall Street heavyweights have to say about Badger Meter (BMI) before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage.Badger Meter currently has an average b ...

Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the reliability of brokerage recommendations, particularly focusing on FedEx (FDX), and highlights the importance of using these recommendations in conjunction with other analytical tools like the Zacks Rank. Brokerage Recommendations for FedEx - FedEx has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.96, indicating a position between Strong Buy and Buy, based on recommendations from 30 brokerage firms [2] - Out of the 30 recommendations, 16 are Strong Buy and 2 are Buy, which account for 53.3% and 6.7% of all recommendations respectively [2] Limitations of Brokerage Recommendations - Solely relying on brokerage recommendations for investment decisions may not be wise, as studies show limited success in guiding investors towards stocks with the best price increase potential [5] - Brokerage firms often exhibit a strong positive bias in their ratings due to vested interests, leading to a disproportionate number of Strong Buy recommendations compared to Strong Sell [6][11] Zacks Rank as an Alternative - The Zacks Rank categorizes stocks into five groups based on earnings estimate revisions, providing a more effective indicator of a stock's price performance in the near future [8][12] - The Zacks Rank is timely and reflects changes in earnings estimates quickly, unlike the ABR which may not be up-to-date [13] Current Earnings Estimates for FedEx - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FedEx's current year earnings has increased by 0.4% over the past month to $18, indicating growing optimism among analysts [14] - This increase in consensus estimates, along with other factors, has resulted in a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy) for FedEx, suggesting a positive outlook for the stock [15]

Investors often turn to recommendations made by Wall Street analysts before making a Buy, Sell, or Hold decision about a stock. While media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm employed (or sell-side) analysts often affect a stock's price, do they really matter?Before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage, let's see what these Wall Street heavyweights think about M/I Homes (MHO) .M/I Homes currently has an average brokerage recommendati ...

On CNBC's “Mad Money Lightning Round,” Jim Cramer recommended buying Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE:ELAN) . “They are doing everything right. I am so impressed with the way they've turned that company around,” he added.Lending support to his choice, Barclays analyst Glen Santangelo, on Dec. 9, initiated coverage on Elanco Animal Health with an Overweight rating and announced a price target of $30.Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) is a “very good spec, ahead of another big offering in the rocket ...

In its upcoming report, FedEx (FDX) is predicted by Wall Street analysts to post quarterly earnings of $4.05 per share, reflecting no change compared to the same period last year. Revenues are forecasted to be $22.88 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of 4.2%.Over the last 30 days, there has been an upward revision of 1.1% in the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter, leading to its current level. This signifies the covering analysts' collective reconsideration of their initial forecasts over ...

Core Insights - Humacyte, Inc. (HUMA) has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.50, indicating a consensus between Strong Buy and Buy based on recommendations from eight brokerage firms [2] - Six out of the eight recommendations are Strong Buy, representing 75% of the total recommendations [2] Brokerage Recommendations - The ABR is calculated based on actual recommendations from brokerage firms, but it may not be a reliable sole indicator for investment decisions [5] - Studies indicate that brokerage recommendations often show limited success in guiding investors towards stocks with the best price increase potential [5][11] - Analysts from brokerage firms tend to exhibit a positive bias in their ratings due to vested interests, leading to a higher number of favorable ratings compared to negative ones [6][11] Zacks Rank vs. ABR - The Zacks Rank is a proprietary stock rating tool that classifies stocks into five groups based on earnings estimate revisions, which are correlated with near-term stock price movements [8][12] - Unlike the ABR, which is based solely on brokerage recommendations, the Zacks Rank is a quantitative model that reflects timely changes in earnings estimates [10][13] - The Zacks Rank for Humacyte, Inc. is currently 2 (Buy), indicating positive sentiment based on recent earnings estimate revisions [15] Earnings Estimates - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Humacyte, Inc. has increased by 11.7% over the past month to -$0.25, reflecting growing optimism among analysts regarding the company's earnings prospects [14] - The recent change in consensus estimates, along with other factors, has contributed to the Zacks Rank 2 for Humacyte, suggesting potential for stock appreciation [15]

Group 1: Airline Industry - Citi initiated coverage of United Airlines (UAL) with a Buy rating and a price target of $132, citing a positive setup for airlines with an "elongated mid-cycle" beginning in 2026 [1] - Citi also started coverage of Delta Air Lines (DAL) and American Airlines (AAL) with Buy ratings, while Southwest Airlines (LUV) received a Neutral rating [1] Group 2: Aerospace Industry - Susquehanna initiated coverage of GE Aerospace (GE) with a Positive rating and a price target of $350, highlighting that GE powers three out of every four commercial engine flights globally with an installed base of over 45,000 commercial engines and more than 25,000 military engines, both growing at mid-single digits [1] Group 3: Food Industry - Jefferies resumed coverage of Hershey (HSY) with a Hold rating and a price target of $181, noting that while Hershey has managed cocoa cost pressures through various strategies, the current valuation is near the high end of the stock's ten-year range [1] Group 4: Software Industry - Guggenheim initiated coverage of Monday.com (MNDY) with a Buy rating and a price target of $250, indicating a 64% upside potential as the company transitions to a more sales-led, multi-product and upmarket approach [1] Group 5: Restaurant Industry - Truist initiated coverage of Cava Group (CAVA) with a Buy rating and a price target of $66, stating that Cava is the leading Mediterranean fast-casual concept and is expected to be one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains [1]

Core Insights - ChargePoint Holdings, Inc. reported a quarterly loss of $1.32 per share, slightly better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.35, and an improvement from a loss of $2 per share a year ago, indicating a positive earnings surprise of +2.22% [1] - The company generated revenues of $105.67 million for the quarter ended October 2025, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 9.55% and showing growth from $99.61 million in the same quarter last year [2] - ChargePoint shares have declined approximately 61% year-to-date, contrasting with the S&P 500's gain of 16.5%, highlighting significant underperformance in the market [3] Earnings Outlook - The future performance of ChargePoint's stock will largely depend on management's commentary during the earnings call and the company's earnings outlook, which includes current consensus earnings expectations for upcoming quarters [4] - The current consensus EPS estimate for the next quarter is -$1.11 on revenues of $102.39 million, and for the current fiscal year, it is -$5.16 on revenues of $393.9 million [7] Industry Context - The Automotive - Original Equipment industry, to which ChargePoint belongs, is currently ranked in the top 34% of over 250 Zacks industries, suggesting a favorable industry outlook that could positively influence ChargePoint's stock performance [8]