More about the fantastic Apple results.
Philip Elmer-DeWitt writes with more than a little irony that yesterday “was not a good day for professional analysts as a class — and Merrill Lynch’s in particular” as “the men and women who track the company for banks and brokerage houses were bested once again by a bunch of bloggers, day traders and amateur analysts.”
In the color-coded chart you can see the estimates that were closest to the mark highlighted in green and the worst highlighted in red.
Note, says Philip, the number of green rectangles at the top, in the amateur’s portion of the chart, and the number of reds scattered below, among the pros.
UPDATE: from an Apple forum, this gem about smart analysts:
“The Royal Bank of Canada cut its price target on shares of Apple friday (January 16 , 2009) to $70 from $125 and also downgraded the stock to ‘Underperform’ on concerns of reduced earnings growth as well as uncertainty about the company’s leadership.”
Oh boy, you better find another job.
Tags: Apple, Merrill Lynch, Philip Elmer-DeWitt, analysts