Andrew Ling

First Solar, Sunpower Likely to Be Added to the Nasdaq 100 This Month

Exactly. The earnings estimates game is much like the buy sell or hold ratings game. In theory an analyst doing his job should have just as many "sell" rated stocks as "buy" rated stocks. In reality there are far more buy rated stocks. Similarly there are far more companies that "beat" expectations than miss. The analysts figure this is the safe side to error on. It reminds me of home appraisers who, on the west coast, simply appraise the house at it's sale price 95% of the time. I always felt I was getting ripped off paying an appraiser $300 just to satisfy the bank.