[blanknoone]

If you believe what you wrote, go out and make millions! If people are inappropriately over or under valuing companies...and you can tell...you can make a bundle with ease. Let us know how it goes.

Being one of those 'B school boobs' (although not working in asset management) I know what they were taught. Read Aswath Damadoran's equity finance book. He breaks it down as well as anyone. The only thing that matters to the value of the company is how many dollars go in, how many dollars go out to investors, and the respective timing of both flows. However, figuring out when and how much money will come out is incredibly complex...and involves making many assumptions and educated guesses and estimations. I would rather safely guess that those upgrades and downgrades reflect changing long term estimates in the models more than fluctuations in quarterly profits.

[JesseHousman]

If you believe what you wrote, go out and make millions!

I have, in spite of the imbeciles who rate good companies. The typical brokerage clod (with his MBA) is lucky to be making $100M/year and will never be a multi-millionaire (which doesn't mean a hell of a lot these days). My point is that these "raters" aren't even pointy-headed geeks or eggheads; rather they're just plodding along to make marginally more than they would managing an Outback Steakhouse location.

As far as the asset management types are concerned, the first thing an investor should ask them is "are you wealthy?" If not, you don't need him.

I don't have an MBA, but I do have an MS and a PhD and I did read the book that B schools fail to use nowadays.