Analyst Ratings Screener

Analyst Ratings Screener Guide

Analyst ratings can be useful signals—but they’re most valuable when you can see the pattern, not just a headline. A single upgrade or price target change doesn’t tell you much on its own. What matters is context: who issued the rating, what changed (if anything), how the rating compares to prior coverage, and whether analyst sentiment is improving or fading over time.

MarketBeat’s Analyst Ratings Screener is built for that kind of research. It helps you filter and compare stocks based on buy/hold/sell ratings, price targets, and rating actions (initiations, reiterations, upgrades, downgrades, price target raises/lowers). It also makes it easier to spot stocks gaining analyst support—or losing it—before sentiment shifts more broadly.

A key thing to remember: analyst ratings are opinions, not guarantees. Ratings can be influenced by firm methodology, time horizon, and what the analyst expects relative to a benchmark—not just “buy this now” or “sell this now.” The screener helps you treat ratings appropriately: as a starting point for further research, not the finish line.

How to Use the MarketBeat Analyst Ratings Screener

MarketBeat’s Analyst Ratings Screener allows investors to analyze analyst sentiment by filtering stocks based on ratings, price target changes, and analyst actions. The tool is available to All Access users and makes it easy to save, export, and revisit custom screens.

At the top of the page, you can open saved screeners, save your current setup, or switch to full-screen view—helpful when reviewing large sets of rating data at once.

1. Choose the rating data you want to screen

Under Customize Screener, you control how the tool works. This section lets you reset your screener, open Add Filters & Columns, and decide how analyst data appears in your results.

Click Add Filters & Columns and look under the Analyst Ratings category. From there, you can add filters and columns such as:

• Analyst action (initiated coverage, reiterated, upgraded, downgraded, price target raised or lowered)
• Previous rating and new rating (when applicable)
• Stock price at the time of the rating
• Previous and new price targets
• Percentage upside based on the new price target
• Brokerage firm and analyst name

This is where the screener becomes most useful: you’re not just seeing a rating, you’re seeing what changed and how expectations shifted.

2. Set criteria, date range, and sorting

Once your filters and columns are selected, configure them directly on the main page. You can choose how many results are returned and how results are ordered by default, such as by rating date, price target change, or percentage upside.

You can also set a beginning and ending date to search for analyst ratings issued during a specific timeframe. From there, narrow your list further by screening for:

• Specific rating actions (upgrades, downgrades, initiations)
• Current analyst ratings (Buy, Hold, Sell)
• Minimum price targets or percentage upside
• A manageable number of results for easier comparison

As you adjust filters, the results update automatically, allowing you to refine your screen in real time.

3. Review, compare, and export results

The results table shows stocks that match your criteria, including rating actions, rating changes, price targets, and upside potential. You can sort columns to compare stocks quickly or export results to Excel for deeper analysis or tracking over time.