RE:A few thoughts on analystsMy rule of thumb, in no way gospel. Trying to differentiate between an independent analyst and one who's working for an investment group or hedge fund is difficult. This again is JMHO but if you're going to analyze you actually need real numbers/facts/information. Unless someone inside is a leak/hacked there's no way of knowing what to 100% analyze. Sure I can make educated guesses but means nothing until actual facts are presented, like in a quarterly. When I read some analyst reports that speak of graphs, patterns forming, trends, history etc then It's pretty clear they don't really know. Now if the analyst can present the numbers that back their analysis, at least you can agree or argue against with more clarity plus you too are informed. Plus you can verify. To analyze without the numbers/information is IMO not worth looking at and should be in all things that are honest, not an absolute indicator.