Analyst Rating

A recommendation issued by a sell-side research analyst at a brokerage or investment bank, typically expressed as Buy, Hold, or Sell (with variations like Overweight and Underweight). Upgrades and downgrades can move stock prices sharply, especially for smaller companies. Skeptics note that analyst ratings skew heavily toward Buy -- historically, fewer than 5% of ratings are outright Sells, partly because banks want to maintain relationships with the companies they cover.