According to the NY Times they are supposed to be among Wall
Street’s most closely guarded secrets: changes in research analysts’ views, up
or down, of a company’s prospects. But some of the nation’s biggest brokerage
firms appear to be giving a handful of top hedge funds an early peek at these
sentiments — allowing them to trade on the information before other investors
get the word.
The signals come from questionnaires that analysts answer
and submit electronically, either monthly or quarterly, to some of their firms’
largest hedge fund clients. Chief among the questions posed to the analysts are
those about possible earnings surprises at companies they follow.
What analysts tell investors about the companies they follow
— and when — is central to the concept of a level playing field on Wall Street.
When disseminated, analyst downgrades and upgrades can make a stock sink or
soar. Getting that information early can be very profitable for traders. As a
result, regulatory rules require brokerage firms to restrict the information
flow from research departments to prevent the potential for trading ahead of
research reports….
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