You have got to hand it to some of the stock analysts who are out there.  I stumbled across a research recommendation on a bank stock while doing my own due dilligence.  The stock is Allied Irish Banks (AIB).  Take a look at the chart of this security and you will have a pretty accurate picture of many financial stocks.  What I want to focus on here is the stock performance before the analyst changed their recommdation and after the change.

Analysts recommendations. What did that cost you?

Click on the image above to get a good look at the performance during the analysts “Buy” period and then the performance following their “Sell” recommendation.  It is no wonder this market is in a shambles!  AIB is down 96% during the period that the analyst had a “buy” recommendation.  How much are they down during the “sell”?  UP 19%!

In fairness to the analyst, the sell recommendation might prove to a be a good call.  This bank, along with the economy in Ireland, has been incredibly hard hit.  The bank just might go away.  However, if it doesn’t, it could be a huge gainer with a long term horizon.  In fact, do a little research on this stock.  They hold a stake in M&T Bank (MTB) that is about 20% of MTB.  AIB trades well below the value of their MTB holdings alone.