UBS Wealth Management Research (WMR) offers corporate research and analysis on individual companies and sectors through a variety of publications, including: Corporate Report: An assessment of recent corporate developments and analysis of equity and/or credit investment cases, including financial analysis, company description and investment recommendations. Investment Themes: Equity recommendations relevant to a specific sector or theme, including key industry drivers and future outlook for the market. WMR Top 25 Stock List: Specific stock recommendations by WMR's Senior Equity Strategist. Includes monthly review of recommended stocks as well as performance data.
Ratings for Equities and Bonds Stock Recommendations System
Analysts provide two ratings: an absolute rating and a relative rating. The absolute rating is based on the current Estimated Fair Value Range (EFVR) for the stock and the stock's recent trading price. The relative rating is based on the stock's total return potential against the total estimated return of the appropriate sector benchmark over the next year. The EFVR is the price range within which the analyst estimates the stock to be fairly valued. The estimation of the EFVR is based on methods such as a discounted cash flow valuation or a valuation multiples comparison. In the definition of the EFVR, analysts take into account the risk profile (predictability) of the stock. Absolute Stock Rating System Buy: We believe the stock is undervalued relative to current market prices Hold: We believe the stock's current market valuation is in a fair range Sell: We believe the stock is overvalued relative to current market prices Under review: Upon special events that require further analysis, the stock rating may be flagged as "Under review" by the analyst Suspended: If data is no longer valid, the stock rating may be flagged as "Suspended" by the analyst Restricted: Issuing of research on a company by WMR can be restricted due to legal, regulatory, contractual or best business practice obligations which are normally caused by UBS Investment Bank's involvement in an investment banking transaction in regard to the concerned company
| Industry Sector/Country Relative Stock View | |
| Outperform (OUT) | Expected to outperform the benchmark | | Marketperform (MKT) | Expected performance in line with the benchmark | | Underperform (UND) | Expected to underperform the benchmark |
Bond Recommendations
WMR bond recommendations are relative value recommendations, with each recommendation reflecting WMR's opinion of the expected performance of the bond in comparison to the expected performance of other bonds in its peer group. For example, an outperform recommendation suggests that WMR believes that the total return of a bond will be greater than the average total return of all other bonds in its peer group. We evaluate the bonds in a peer group by examining the credit spread of the bond versus the credit spreads of other bonds in the peer group. | Recommendation | Expected Performance | |
| Outperform (OP) | The bond is expected to earn a higher total return than a liquid bond benchmark representing a comparable level of risk. | | Market Perform (MP) | The bond is expected to earn a total return in line with a liquid bond benchmark representing a comparable level of risk. | | Underperform (UP) | The bond is expected to earn a lower total return than a liquid bond benchmark representing a comparable level of risk. | | Sell (Sell) | Given substantial downside credit or default risk, the bond should be sold. |
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