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Meaning / Definition of

Consensus Recommendation

Categories: Stocks,

A consensus recommendation for an individual stock compiles ratings from a number of analysts who track that stock. The recommendation is expressed as either the mean or median of the separate recommendations. Calculating the consensus is a multi-step process that involves grouping the terms that analysts use to recommend buying, selling, or holding, generally into three or five categories, assigning a scale, and computing the result either by averaging the numbers for the mean or identifying the median, which is the point at which half the views are higher and half are lower.A consensus recommendation provides a snapshot of current thinking about a stock, so it can serve as a benchmark against which you can compare a single analyst's opinion to gauge how mainstream it is. But like any statistical mean or median, a consensus recommendation can distort strong differences at either end of the scale. Further, if the report accompanying the consensus view doesn't point out significant differences in the viewpoints of the various analysts it includes, you won't be able to tell where the most respected analysts stand on the stock.In addition, you should be aware that the consensus recommendation for any given stock might differ from one research company to the next. This is because the mathematical formula that assigns weights to the individual recommendations will vary, based in part on how many levels of differentiation the research company uses and how it interprets the words that analysts use to express their opinions.

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Definition / Meaning of

Relative Strength

Categories: Investing and Trading,

A stock's price change over a period of time relative to that of a market index, such as the s&p 500. The relative strength of a stock is calculated by taking the percentage price change of a stock over a set period of time and ranking it on a scale of 1 to 100 against all other stocks on the market, with 1 being worst and 100 being best. For example, a stock with a relative strength of 90 has experienced a greater increase in its price over the last year than the price increases experienced by 90% of all other stocks on the market. Some technical analysts, especially momentum investors, like stocks with high relative strength rankings, believing that stocks which have recently gone up are more likely to continue going up. Other technical analysts believe that a very high relative strength can be an indication that the stock is overbought and is ready to fall. Relative strength is really a "rear view mirror" metric, measuring only how the stock has done in the past, not how it will do in the future.

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