3
Forecasts reflect analysts' predictions of various future financial statement line-items (e.g., earnings per share, sales), and therefore analysts are
expected to update their forecasts upon receiving material information that changes their estimates of future corporate performance. In contrast,
recommendations reflect the divergence or convergence between the analyst's valuation and the market's valuation. Therefore, recommendation revisions
are not expected to follow the arrival of material information, unless analysts produce private information or stock prices incorporate private information
previously discovered by analysts.
4
For instance, Table 2 in Frankel and Lee (1998) shows that, even when earnings expectations are held constant, valuations can differ significantly when
valuation assumptions vary (e.g., discount rate, number of periods).
5
Please see Ball and Brown (1968), Bernard and Thomas (1989), Chan et al. (1996) and Livnat and Mendenhall (2006).