Do Stock Prices Influence Analysts' Earnings Forecasts?

This study uses an experiment with professional financial analysts to examine whether stock prices influence analysts' earnings forecasts. The findings indicate that analysts' revised forecasts made in response to a management earnings forecast differ depending on the level of uncertainty communicated by management's guidance and the stock price reaction to it. Lower (higher) stock price leads to lower (higher) analysts' forecasts when uncertainty about future earnings is high, but not when uncertainty about future earnings is low. Overall, the evidence suggests that the documented association between prior security returns and analysts' earnings forecasts is due, at least in part, to the influence of stock price on analysts' earnings forecasts.