Wall Street Analysts Think Uber (UBER) Is a Good Investment: Is It?

Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the reliability of brokerage recommendations, particularly focusing on Uber Technologies (UBER), and emphasizes the importance of using these recommendations in conjunction with other analytical tools like the Zacks Rank for making informed investment decisions [1][4]. Brokerage Recommendations - Uber has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.36, indicating a consensus between Strong Buy and Buy, based on 47 brokerage firms' recommendations [2]. - Out of the 47 recommendations, 37 are classified as Strong Buy, accounting for 78.7%, while three are classified as Buy, making up 6.4% of the total [2]. Limitations of Brokerage Recommendations - The article highlights that brokerage recommendations may not be reliable indicators of stock price movements due to analysts' biases stemming from their firms' vested interests [5][9]. - Studies suggest that brokerage firms tend to issue five "Strong Buy" recommendations for every "Strong Sell," indicating a tendency towards overly optimistic ratings [5]. Zacks Rank as an Alternative - The Zacks Rank, which classifies stocks from 1 (Strong Buy) to 5 (Strong Sell), is presented as a more reliable indicator of near-term price performance, based on earnings estimate revisions [7][10]. - The Zacks Rank is updated more frequently than the ABR, making it a timely tool for predicting future stock prices [11]. Current Earnings Estimates for Uber - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Uber's current year earnings has increased by 0.8% over the past month to $2.54, reflecting analysts' growing optimism [12]. - This increase in consensus estimates has contributed to Uber receiving a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy), suggesting a positive outlook for the stock [13].