Sell-Side Analysts' Benchmarks
研究发现卖方分析师在推荐股票时使用不同基准（如跑赢行业、跑赢市场或达到某个回报门槛），这些基准影响推荐分布、股价反应和投资价值，对学术研究和投资者解读分析师建议有参考意义。
ABSTRACT Sell-side analysts employ different benchmarks when defining their recommendations. A buy for some brokers means the stock is expected to outperform its industry, while for other brokers, it means the stock is expected to outperform the market or some return threshold. We show that these stated benchmarks have implications for the distribution of recommendations, price reactions to recommendations, and the investment value of recommendations. We conclude that, depending on the question, academics may need to account for the benchmarks when studying analysts' outputs, and investors may find the benchmarks beneficial in interpreting analysts' advice. JEL Classifications: G10; G24.