The effect of analysts on the market response to earnings announcements

I examine the effect analysts have on the price response to earnings announcements. To address this question, I exploit an exogenous shock to analyst coverage to show that, following the loss of an analyst, the market reaction to earnings announcements decreases. In cross-sectional analyses, I show that the magnitude of the negative effect is decreasing in information asymmetry and the likelihood that a firm’s earnings are used more for contracting purposes. I further show that the magnitude of the negative effect is increasing in the readability of the financial statements and financial reporting comparability. This study contributes to the literature by providing a deeper understanding of the effect analysts have on the pricing of information contained in earnings announcements. As such, the results of this study should be of interest to regulators, researchers, and investors.