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The Stock Selection and Performance of Buy-Side Analysts

Author

Listed:
  • Boris Groysberg

    (Harvard Business School, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02163)

  • Paul Healy

    (Harvard Business School, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02163)

  • George Serafeim

    (Harvard Business School, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02163)

  • Devin Shanthikumar

    (Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697)

Abstract

Prior research on equity analysts focuses almost exclusively on those employed by sell-side investment banks and brokerage houses. Yet investment firms undertake their own buy-side research, and their analysts face different stock selection and recommendation incentives than their sell-side peers. We examine the selection and performance of stocks recommended by analysts at a large investment firm relative to those of sell-side analysts from mid-1997 to 2004. We find that the buy-side firm's analysts issue less optimistic recommendations for stocks with larger market capitalizations and lower return volatility than their sell-side peers, consistent with their facing fewer conflicts of interest and having a preference for liquid stocks. Tests with no controls for these effects indicate that annualized buy-side strong buy/buy recommendations underperform those for sell-side peers by 5.9% using market-adjusted returns and by 3.8% using four-factor model abnormal returns. However, these findings are driven by differences in the stocks recommended and their market capitalization. After controlling for these selection effects, we find no difference in the performance of the buy- and sell-side analysts' strong buy/buy recommendations. This paper was accepted by Mary Barth, accounting.

Suggested Citation

  • Boris Groysberg & Paul Healy & George Serafeim & Devin Shanthikumar, 2013. "The Stock Selection and Performance of Buy-Side Analysts," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(5), pages 1062-1075, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:59:y:2013:i:5:p:1062-1075
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.1120.1619
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    1. Brown, Lawrence D. & Call, Andrew C. & Clement, Michael B. & Sharp, Nathan Y., 2016. "The activities of buy-side analysts and the determinants of their stock recommendations," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 139-156.
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    4. Steven Crawford & Wesley Gray & Bryan R. Johnson & Richard A. Price, 2018. "What Motivates Buy-Side Analysts to Share Recommendations Online?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(6), pages 2574-2589, June.
    5. Jeffrey Hobbs & Vivek Singh & Madhumita Chakraborty, 2021. "Institutional underperformance: Should managers listen to the sell-side before trading?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 389-410, July.
    6. Barniv, Ran Ron & Chen, Min & Li, We, 2020. "The market reaction to analyst stock recommendation and earnings forecast consistency: International evidence," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    7. Frey, Stefan & Herbst, Patrick, 2014. "The influence of buy-side analysts on mutual fund trading," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 442-458.
    8. Minkwan Ahn & Michael Drake & Hangsoo Kyung & Han Stice, 2019. "The role of the business press in the pricing of analysts’ recommendation revisions," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 341-392, March.
    9. Bingxu Fang & Ole-Kristian Hope & Zhongwei Huang & Rucsandra Moldovan, 2020. "The effects of MiFID II on sell-side analysts, buy-side analysts, and firms," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 855-902, September.
    10. Michael J. Jung & M. H. Franco Wong & X. Frank Zhang, 2018. "Buy‐Side Analysts and Earnings Conference Calls," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(3), pages 913-952, June.
    11. Michael Rebello & Kelsey D. Wei, 2014. "A Glimpse Behind a Closed Door: The Long‐Term Investment Value of Buy‐Side Research and Its Effect on Fund Trades and Performance," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(3), pages 775-815, June.
    12. Hari Venkatesh & Jyoti Kumari & Gourishankar S. Hiremath & Hiranmoy Roy, 2021. "Foreign Institutional Investors: Fair-Weather Friends or Smart Traders?," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 19(2), pages 291-316, June.
    13. Pacelli, Joseph, 2019. "Corporate culture and analyst catering⁎," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 120-143.
    14. Jeremy Burke & Angela A. Hung & Jack Clift & Steven Garber & Joanne K. Yoong, 2015. "Impacts of Conflicts of Interest in the Financial Services Industry," Working Papers WR-1076, RAND Corporation.
    15. Matteo Prato & Fabrizio Ferraro, 2018. "Starstruck: How Hiring High-Status Employees Affects Incumbents’ Performance," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(5), pages 755-774, October.
    16. Call, Andrew C. & Sharp, Nathan Y. & Shohfi, Thomas D., 2021. "Which buy-side institutions participate in public earnings conference calls? Implications for capital markets and sell-side coverage," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    17. Jordan Martel & Edward Dickersin Van Wesep & Robert Van Wesep, 2022. "Ratings and Cooperative Information Transmission," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(12), pages 9175-9197, December.
    18. Gong, Pu & Weng, Yingliang, 2016. "Value-at-Risk forecasts by a spatiotemporal model in Chinese stock market," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 441(C), pages 173-191.
    19. Radoc, Benjamin, 2018. "Case-based investing: Stock selection under uncertainty," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 53-59.
    20. Huai-Chun Lo & Chia-Ying Chan, 2023. "Mean reverting in stock ratings distribution," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 1065-1097, April.

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