Never trust Wall Street research

Self-serving research on Wall Street:

Rule 1: All news is good news (if the news is bad, it can always get better).

Rule 2: Everything is always cheap (even if you have to make up new valuation methodologies).

Rule 3: Assertion trumps evidence (never let the facts get in the way of a good story). 

- James Montier 

"Never ask a barber if you need a haircut." 

- Warren Buffet

Wall Street research is biased. Most recommendations are buys, then holds and finally sells even in a down market. You can use Street research to gain facts and information especially about an industry, but the actual buy and sell should be suspect other than to know what the Street is thinking. No one is too negative and expects to keep their jobs. It is the nature of the business. It should not be considered shocking. Do your own research and you control all the inputs and weights. You have full transparency of the framework. Of course, you must learn to be your best critic.