Analyst Tipping: Evidence on Finnish Stocks
Posted: 7 Dec 2017 Last revised: 12 May 2020
Date Written: December 1, 2017
Abstract
Market analysts typically present their views on firms through publicly released recommendation reports and revisions, in which they ‘upgrade’ or ‘downgrade’ their stock picks. Traders can earn substantial profits if they have access to the information in these reports in advance of their public release. Analysts have an incentive to tip their major clients by earning commission on informed trades. Using data from the Nasdaq Helsinki between 2001–2014, we find evidence of analyst tipping. Trading patterns reveal that domestic institutional investors buy recommended stocks from four days prior to upgrades and sell from one day prior to downgrades. We also find evidence that the Market Abuse Directive slightly reduced analyst tipping in the two years following its implementation.
Keywords: analyst upgrades, analyst downgrades, tipping
JEL Classification: G14, G15, G24
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation