Buy vs. Sell Recommendations
According to FactSet Research Systems, only 3% of all U.S. listed stocks were considered “sells” as of November 2011.
Analysts Ratings for U.S.-Listed Companies
|
|
# of Recommendations |
% of Total |
|
Buy |
13,339 |
45% |
|
Overweight |
2,606 |
9% |
|
Hold |
12,312 |
42% |
|
Underweight |
398 |
15% |
|
Sell |
814 |
3% |
In theory, the ratio of buy to sell ratings should be roughly 50/50. However, this has likely never been the case. In the late 1990s, the ratio was 100+ buys for every sell. During this time, Merrill Lynch had buy ratings on 940 stocks and sell ratings on just seven; Salomon Smith Barney: 856 buy ratings and four sells; Morgan Stanley Dean Witter: 670 buys and zero sells.