Today's Analyst Stock Ratings | Upgrades, Downgrades

SPY769.86+0.03%QQQ749.55−0.00%BTC/USD84,916.55+0.21%DIA511.70+0.12%GLD380.52+0.10%TLT77.53+0.06%

							Get Alert
Sep 8, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	32.94%	Gavin ParsonsUBS 59%	581 674	Previous Neutral Current Buy	Get Alert
Aug 13, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	36.3%	John GodynCitigroup 43%	641 691	Previous Buy Current Buy	Get Alert
Jul 24, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	36.1%	Kristine LiwagMorgan Stanley 71%	653 690	Previous Equal-Weight Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert
Jul 24, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	18.35%	Ken HerbertRBC Capital 73%	575 600	Previous Sector Perform Current Sector Perform	Get Alert
Jul 13, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	10.46%	Gautam KhannaTD Cowen 70%	560 600	Previous Hold Current Hold	Get Alert
Jul 1, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	14.8%	John GodynCitigroup 43%	571 582	Previous Neutral Current Buy	Get Alert
May 18, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	12.63%	John GodynCitigroup 43%	571 675	Previous Neutral Current Neutral	Get Alert
Apr 24, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	28.8%	Kristine LiwagMorgan Stanley 71%	653 675	Previous Equal-Weight Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert
Apr 24, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	13.42%	Ken HerbertRBC Capital 73%	575 650	Previous Sector Perform Current Sector Perform	Get Alert
Apr 24, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	38.07%	Charles MinervinoSusquehanna 72%	700 740	Previous Positive Current Positive	Get Alert
Apr 7, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	26.24%	Sheila KahyaogluJefferies 68%	630 640	Previous Hold Current Hold	Get Alert
Apr 2, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	33.14%	John GodynCitigroup 43%	673 675	Previous Neutral Current Neutral	Get Alert
Apr 1, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	28.21%	David StraussWells Fargo 74%	650	Previous Initiates Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert
Mar 18, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	45.96%	Charles MinervinoSusquehanna 72%	725 740	Previous Positive Current Positive	Get Alert
Feb 5, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	32.75%	John GodynCitigroup 43%	592 673	Previous Neutral Current Neutral	Get Alert
Feb 2, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	30.77%	Gavin ParsonsUBS 59%	580 663	Previous Neutral Current Neutral	Get Alert
Feb 2, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	24.27%	Sheila KahyaogluJefferies 68%	540 630	Previous Hold Current Hold	Get Alert
Feb 2, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	1.98%	Noah PoponakGoldman Sachs 66%	464 517	Previous Sell Current Sell	Get Alert
Jan 30, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	32.16%	Gautam KhannaTD Cowen 70%	600 670	Previous Hold Current Hold	Get Alert
Jan 30, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	28.21%	Ken HerbertRBC Capital 73%	615 650	Previous Sector Perform Current Sector Perform	Get Alert
Jan 15, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	14.4%	Gavin ParsonsUBS 59%	513 580	Previous Neutral Current Neutral	Get Alert
Jan 13, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	16.77%	John GodynCitigroup 43%	505 592	Previous Neutral Current Neutral	Get Alert
Jan 12, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	6.51%	Sheila KahyaogluJefferies 68%	500 540	Previous Hold Current Hold	Get Alert
Jan 9, 2026	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	19.33%	Michael CiarmoliTruist Securities 84%	500 605	Previous Hold Current Buy	Get Alert
Dec 19, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	1.58%	Seth SeifmanJP Morgan 81%	465 515	Previous Overweight Current Neutral	Get Alert
Dec 16, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	7.1%	Kristine LiwagMorgan Stanley 71%	543 630	Previous Overweight Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert
Dec 12, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-0.39%	John GodynCitigroup 43%	505	Previous Initiates Current Neutral	Get Alert
Oct 22, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	1.19%	Gavin ParsonsUBS 59%	513 514	Previous Neutral Current Neutral	Get Alert
Oct 20, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	7.5%	Douglas HarnedBernstein 45%	497 545	Previous Market Perform Current Market Perform	Get Alert
Oct 15, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-1.38%	Michael CiarmoliTruist Securities 84%	440 500	Previous Hold Current Hold	Get Alert
Oct 15, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	24.27%	Kristine LiwagMorgan Stanley 71%	530 630	Previous Overweight Current Overweight	Get Alert
Oct 9, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	16.38%	Charles MinervinoSusquehanna 72%	490 590	Previous Positive Current Positive	Get Alert
Oct 6, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	8.49%	Peter ArmentBaird 83%	500 550	Previous Outperform Current Outperform	Get Alert
Aug 21, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-5.32%	Ronald EpsteinB of A Securities 67%	480 495	Previous Neutral Current Neutral	Get Alert
Jul 23, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-2.36%	Ronald EpsteinB of A Securities 67%	485 495	Previous Neutral Current Neutral	Get Alert
Jul 23, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-10.65%	Gavin ParsonsUBS 59%	453 498	Previous Neutral Current Neutral	Get Alert
Jul 23, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-8.28%	Seth SeifmanJP Morgan 81%	465 520	Previous Overweight Current Overweight	Get Alert
Jul 23, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-13.21%	Michael CiarmoliTruist Securities 84%	440 554	Previous Buy Current Hold	Get Alert
Jul 23, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-13.21%	Ken HerbertRBC Capital 73%	440 480	Previous Sector Perform Current Sector Perform	Get Alert
Jul 23, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-3.35%	Charles MinervinoSusquehanna 72%	490 550	Previous Positive Current Positive	Get Alert
Jul 23, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-1.38%	Peter ArmentBaird 83%	500 540	Previous Outperform Current Outperform	Get Alert
Jul 11, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	9.27%	Michael CiarmoliTruist Securities 84%	554 579	Previous Buy Current Buy	Get Alert
Jul 10, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-5.32%	Gautam KhannaTD Cowen 70%	480 500	Previous Buy Current Hold	Get Alert
Apr 23, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-1.57%	Gavin ParsonsUBS 59%	481 499	Previous Neutral Current Neutral	Get Alert
Apr 23, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	6.51%	Peter ArmentBaird 83%	540 540	Previous Neutral Current Outperform	Get Alert
Apr 8, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-14.79%	Matthew AkersWells Fargo 77%	432 476	Previous Equal-Weight Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert
Mar 27, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-5.32%	Ken HerbertRBC Capital 73%	480 550	Previous Outperform Current Sector Perform	Get Alert
Mar 24, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-4.34%	Ronald EpsteinB of A Securities 67%	485 685	Previous Buy Current Neutral	Get Alert
Mar 7, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-6.11%	Matthew AkersWells Fargo 77%	468 476	Previous Equal-Weight Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert
Feb 26, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-7.69%	Matthew AkersWells Fargo 77%	468 497	Previous Equal-Weight Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert
Jan 30, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-1.97%	Matthew AkersWells Fargo 77%	497 500	Previous Equal-Weight Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert
Jan 30, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	5.53%	Seth SeifmanJP Morgan 81%	535 540	Previous Overweight Current Overweight	Get Alert
Jan 29, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	3.55%	Kristine LiwagMorgan Stanley 71%	525 555	Previous Equal-Weight Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert
Jan 29, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	8.49%	Ken HerbertRBC Capital 73%	550 570	Previous Outperform Current Outperform	Get Alert
Jan 29, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	8.49%	Charles MinervinoSusquehanna 72%	550 590	Previous Positive Current Positive	Get Alert
Jan 29, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	0.2%	Gavin ParsonsUBS 59%	508 527	Previous Neutral Current Neutral	Get Alert
Jan 27, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	12.43%	Ken HerbertRBC Capital 73%	570 665	Previous Outperform Current Outperform	Get Alert
Jan 21, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	18.35%	Jason GurskyCitigroup 84%	600 700	Previous Buy Current Buy	Get Alert
Jan 16, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	6.51%	Seth SeifmanJP Morgan 81%	540 546	Previous Overweight Current Overweight	Get Alert
Jan 14, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	14.21%	Michael CiarmoliTruist Securities 84%	579	Previous Initiates Current Buy	Get Alert
Jan 8, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-1.38%	Matthew AkersWells Fargo 77%	500 543	Previous Equal-Weight Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert
Jan 8, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	16.38%	Charles MinervinoSusquehanna 72%	590 695	Previous Positive Current Positive	Get Alert
Jan 6, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	1.58%	David StraussBarclays 74%	515 565	Previous Equal-Weight Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert
Jan 2, 2025	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	3.16%	Scott DeuschleDeutsche Bank 79%	523 611	Previous Buy Current Hold	Get Alert
Dec 11, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	7.1%	Matthew AkersWells Fargo 77%	543 602	Previous Equal-Weight Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert
Oct 29, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	11.44%	David StraussBarclays 74%	505 565	Previous Equal-Weight Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert
Oct 23, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	20.52%	Scott DeuschleDeutsche Bank 79%	611 620	Previous Buy Current Buy	Get Alert
Oct 23, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	31.17%	Ken HerbertRBC Capital 73%	665 675	Previous Outperform Current Outperform	Get Alert
Oct 23, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	20.32%	Cai von RumohrTD Cowen 69%	560 610	Previous Buy Current Buy	Get Alert
Oct 23, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	18.94%	Gavin ParsonsUBS 59%	589 603	Previous Neutral Current Neutral	Get Alert
Oct 23, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	37.09%	Charles MinervinoSusquehanna 72%	695 705	Previous Positive Current Positive	Get Alert
Oct 17, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	39.06%	Charles MinervinoSusquehanna 72%	565 705	Previous Positive Current Positive	Get Alert
Oct 14, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	24.27%	Seth SeifmanJP Morgan 81%	560 630	Previous Overweight Current Overweight	Get Alert
Oct 10, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	38.07%	Jason GurskyCitigroup 84%	570 700	Previous Buy Current Buy	Get Alert
Oct 7, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	33.14%	Ken HerbertRBC Capital 73%	600 675	Previous Outperform Current Outperform	Get Alert
Oct 3, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	22.29%	Scott DeuschleDeutsche Bank 79%	600 620	Previous Buy Current Buy	Get Alert
Aug 30, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	25.25%	Ronald EpsteinB of A Securities 67%	635 635	Previous Buy Current Buy	Get Alert
Aug 9, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	18.15%	Kristine LiwagMorgan Stanley 71%	503 599	Previous Equal-Weight Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert
Aug 5, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	18.35%	Ken HerbertRBC Capital 73%	500 600	Previous Sector Perform Current Outperform	Get Alert
Jul 31, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	25.25%	Ronald EpsteinB of A Securities 67%	465 635	Previous Neutral Current Buy	Get Alert
Jul 30, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-0.39%	David StraussBarclays 74%	480 505	Previous Equal-Weight Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert
Jul 26, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	18.35%	Scott DeuschleDeutsche Bank 79%	540 600	Previous Hold Current Buy	Get Alert
Jul 25, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	10.46%	Seth SeifmanJP Morgan 81%	518 560	Previous Overweight Current Overweight	Get Alert
Jul 24, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	6.51%	Scott DeuschleDeutsche Bank 79%	487 540	Previous Hold Current Hold	Get Alert
Jul 24, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-1.38%	Ken HerbertRBC Capital 73%	470 500	Previous Sector Perform Current Sector Perform	Get Alert
Jul 24, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	3.55%	Matthew AkersWells Fargo 77%	483 525	Previous Equal-Weight Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert
Jul 24, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	6.12%	Gavin ParsonsUBS 59%	511 538	Previous Neutral Current Neutral	Get Alert
Jul 24, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	11.44%	Charles MinervinoSusquehanna 72%	540 565	Previous Positive Current Positive	Get Alert
Jul 24, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	10.46%	Cai von RumohrTD Cowen 69%	480 560	Previous Hold Current Buy	Get Alert
Apr 25, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-5.32%	Matthew AkersWells Fargo 77%	460 480	Previous Equal-Weight Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert
Apr 25, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-3.94%	Scott DeuschleDeutsche Bank 79%	467 487	Previous Hold Current Hold	Get Alert
Apr 24, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	3.55%	Jason GurskyCitigroup 84%	508 525	Previous Buy Current Buy	Get Alert
Apr 24, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-1.57%	Gavin ParsonsUBS 59%	482 499	Previous Neutral Current Neutral	Get Alert
Apr 15, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	2.17%	Seth SeifmanJP Morgan 81%	475 518	Previous Neutral Current Overweight	Get Alert
Jan 24, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-0.79%	Kristine LiwagMorgan Stanley 71%	503 513	Previous Equal-Weight Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert
Jan 24, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	6.51%	Charles MinervinoSusquehanna 72%	540 550	Previous Positive Current Positive	Get Alert
Jan 24, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	0.2%	Jason GurskyCitigroup 84%	508 540	Previous Buy Current Buy	Get Alert
Jan 24, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-7.29%	Ken HerbertRBC Capital 73%	470 475	Previous Sector Perform Current Sector Perform	Get Alert
Jan 24, 2024	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	-6.31%	Gavin ParsonsUBS 59%	475 488	Previous Neutral Current Neutral	Get Alert
Oct 18, 2023	LMTLockheed Martin	$506.98	0.6%	Kristine LiwagMorgan Stanley 71%	510 532	Previous Equal-Weight Current Equal-Weight	Get Alert

Recent Analyst Stock Rating News

PRO

Jefferies Maintains Buy on Huntsman, Lowers Price Target to $11

Jefferies analyst Laurence Alexander maintains Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) with a Buy and lowers the price target from $16 to $11.

PRO

UBS Maintains Neutral on McCormick & Co, Lowers Price Target to $48

UBS analyst Peter Grom maintains McCormick & Co (NYSE:MKC) with a Neutral and lowers the price target from $52 to $48.

PRO

UBS Maintains Neutral on Range Resources, Lowers Price Target to $44

UBS analyst Josh Silverstein maintains Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) with a Neutral and lowers the price target from $49 to $44.

PRO

UBS Maintains Buy on PepsiCo, Lowers Price Target to $145

UBS analyst Peter Grom maintains PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) with a Buy and lowers the price target from $159 to $145.

PRO

UBS Maintains Neutral on G-III Apparel Group, Raises Price Target to $27

UBS analyst Mauricio Serna maintains G-III Apparel Group (NASDAQ:GIII) with a Neutral and raises the price target from $26 to $27.

PRO

UBS Maintains Buy on Expand Energy, Lowers Price Target to $122

UBS analyst Josh Silverstein maintains Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) with a Buy and lowers the price target from $129 to $122.

PRO

UBS Maintains Neutral on CVR Energy, Raises Price Target to $53

UBS analyst Manav Gupta maintains CVR Energy (NYSE:CVI) with a Neutral and raises the price target from $35 to $53.

PRO

UBS Maintains Buy on GRAIL, Raises Price Target to $175

UBS analyst Doug Schenkel maintains GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) with a Buy and raises the price target from $105 to $175.

PRO

UBS Maintains Neutral on Nike, Lowers Price Target to $34

UBS analyst Jay Sole maintains Nike (NYSE:NKE) with a Neutral and lowers the price target from $42 to $34.

PRO

UBS Maintains Buy on Expeditors International, Raises Price Target to $220

UBS analyst Thomas Wadewitz maintains Expeditors International (NYSE:EXPD) with a Buy and raises the price target from $210 to $220.

The Best Trading Research Platform

For Retail Investors and Professional Trades Alike.

Get Started for Free

What Are Analyst Stock Ratings?

Analyst ratings measure the expected performance of a stock during a given time period. Analysts and brokerage firms often use ratings when they issue stock recommendations to stock traders.

Analysts arrive at stock ratings after they research companies’ public financial statements, communicate with executives and customers and interact with companies in other ways.

Most analysts issue ratings 4 times a year, usually at 3-month intervals.

How to Use Analyst Ratings

As an investor or trader, you want to be able to use analyst ratings effectively. Here are steps you can take to understand how to synthesize all the information analysts report about a particular company and how to apply it to your own trades.

Step 1: Check Ratings History

In the short term, look to see whether analysts suggest an initiation, upgrade or downgrade for a particular stock. Understand how the rating changed compared to the previous rating and whether a price target gets announced or changed.

Sometimes the rating stays the same and only the price target changes, which could cause the stock to move in either direction, depending on the significance of the change between the 2 price targets.

Step 2: Check for Other News

In the short term, check to see how the stock reacts to positive or negative news. This will be an indication of the company’s outlook because analyst ratings usually come out after the company announces news (it’ll typically be earnings news).

Step 3: Look at the Sector for News

Check to see if other stocks in the sector also received similar ratings. This could indicate micro news, which refers to when the whole sector or specific company trades in a specific way due to news outside of one company.

Step 4: Look at the Note

If available, look over the analyst note itself. The beginning of the note has the main information of the rating and price target. Investors should also take a look at the summary of the note, which you can find in the first couple pages and give you a concrete overview of the company. This can help you get an understanding of how analysts arrived at their thesis on the stock.

An example of an analyst note. Source: Needham

Step 5: Make a Decision

After reviewing the analyst ratings (and whether the analyst proposes a change or initiation) and find the reason for that note. Make a decision based on the analyst thesis on the company. This should give you guidance on how to make your thesis. Analyst ratings are a good indication of what professionals believe the company or sector will do, helping you get a better understanding of the companies you’re interested in.

Analyst Rating Accuracy

Analyst ratings are not set in stone and nobody knows indefinitely what a stock will do. Therefore, analyst ratings should be taken as an educated guess made by professionals who carefully study the specific company and sector in question. It's not a surprise that the accuracy of each rating can vary by each individual analyst and specific ratings on companies.

In other words, there’s no hard number or percentage on how accurate analyst ratings are because they are like educated guesses on what they think the stock will do based on their research, within that particular sector. In addition, each firm has so many analysts and so many different companies to review that you can compare ratings to glean what you believe is the truth.

Where Analyst Ratings Come From

Analyst ratings come from stock analysts. Analysts “go deep” on companies within a particular industry or sector. Some analysts employ a top-down approach (they start with an industry or sector and look for excellent companies within that industry or sector) and other stock analysts choose a bottom-up approach, which means they start with the company first and connect the dots within that company’s sector or industry. Analysts evaluate:

Financial statements
Economic fundamentals
Suppliers, customers and competitors
Management quality
Business model
Revenue
Expenses
Assets
Liabilities

While these evaluations are done using facts and figures that any investor can access, they come down to a conclusion the analyst must draw. While this isn’t an unqualified opinion, analysts will disagree because their interpretations of the data could vary.

Types of Stock Ratings

Stock ratings can range from simple “buy” and “sell” ratings to “equal weight” and “outperform” ratings. Here’s a quick overview of how analysts rate stocks.

Buy Rating

A “buy” rating indicates that an analyst is optimistic about a stock’s short-term or mid-term growth and recommends that traders purchase the stock. An analyst may even go so far as to indicate that a stock is a “strong buy.” At the same time, you may choose to swing trade the asset for a profit and come back later to start the process all over again.

Sell Rating

A “sell” rating means that an analyst believes the stock will trend downward in a particular time frame. Analysts might even refer to a security as a “strong sell.” Remember, though, you may want to swing trade and come back to this asset in the future even though you just chose to sell, just as you would under a “buy” rating.

Hold

A “hold” rating suggests that investors should not buy more of or sell the specified stock because they believe the stock should perform in a way that’s consistent with the market or will perform similarly to comparable companies within that particular sector. This is akin to the value investing approach that Warren Buffett uses, looking to gain long-term value from a single stock rather than flipping it because of a bad week. As many have said, it’s not a loss until you sell.

Underperform

An “underperform” rating means an analyst indicates that a stock is expected to perform below the market or sector average. And yes, while the underperform rating may not bode well for an asset in the next few weeks, it may not stay that way. Continue to carefully monitor your portfolio to ensure that an underperforming asset hasn’t turned itself around. As companies are faced with the Herculean task of pleasing shareholders, they will push to fix their underperforming stocks, meaning that a stock you wrote off could rise again.

Outperform

An “outperform” rating means that an analyst expects a stock to outperform the market or sector average. While the stock may look to outperform the market or a sector’s average, that doesn’t mean it will continue to soar forever. You must look at an outperform rating as what that asset will do in recent times, but it may not maintain that trajectory.

Equal-Weight

An equal weight rating means that an analyst believes that an individual stock's performance will tie to the average of all the stocks that an analyst covers in that particular sector. This type of rating helps investors get a true comparison of stocks to each other within a particular sector or industry. At the same time, equal-weight ratings could change at any time.

Price Target

A price target is an analyst’s projection of a stock’s future price. A price target is generally set up in a general trade or area where the asset might land. This means that the analyst could get close without hitting the figure on the head. Even so, the analyst wants to get close and better predict the movement of the marketplace and the asset.

Understanding Stock Ratings

Stock ratings are assessments of the investment potential of a particular stock. They are typically created by financial analysts who evaluate a company's financial performance, competitive positioning, and market outlook to provide guidance on the stock's expected future performance.

Ratings typically range from "buy" to "sell," with variations in between, such as "hold," "accumulate," or "neutral." A "buy" rating suggests that the stock is likely to perform well in the future, and investors should consider purchasing it. Conversely, a "sell" rating indicates that the stock is expected to underperform, and investors should consider selling it.

It's important to note that ratings are not guarantees of performance and should not be relied upon solely when making investment decisions. Ratings are just one factor to consider when evaluating a stock's potential, and investors should also conduct their own research and analysis to make informed decisions.

Another thing to keep in mind is that different analysts may have different opinions on a stock, so it's a good idea to consider multiple ratings before making an investment decision.

In addition to analyst ratings, investors can also consider other factors when evaluating a stock, such as its financial statements, management team, industry trends, and overall market conditions. By combining all of these factors, investors can make informed decisions about which stocks to buy or sell.

In summary, stock ratings are an important tool for investors to consider when evaluating a stock's potential, but they should not be the only factor used in investment decision-making. It's important to conduct your own research, consider multiple ratings, and take into account other factors before making an investment decision.

Should You Use Analyst Ratings to Inform Your Own Trades?

You can definitely use analyst ratings to inform your own trades and inform your own thesis but it’s a good idea to do your own research. However, analyst ratings are just one step in what should be a much larger investment strategy. Don’t fall in love with just one analyst. Compare notes. Look into how these ratings match with activity on the market and current events. Plus, remember that an analyst rating could easily be incorrect. No one is perfect, but these ratings are a good place to start.

Visit Benzinga News for more guidance on how to research companies and make decisions about research, trading and investing.

Compare Online Stock Brokers

Claim Exclusive Offers

Interactive Brokers Review
Good Fit For:
Active and Global Traders
VIEW PROS & CONS:
Securely through Interactive Brokers’ website
Plus500 Review
Good Fit For:
Leveraged Trading
VIEW PROS & CONS:
securely through Plus500 Yield's website
public.com Review
Good Fit For:
Trading Ideas
VIEW PROS & CONS:
securely through public.com's website
Robinhood Review
Good Fit For:
Commission-Free Mobile Trading
VIEW PROS & CONS:
securely through Robinhood's website
TradeZero Review
Good Fit For:
Active Short Sellers
VIEW PROS & CONS:
securely through TradeZero [SPONSORED]'s website