John, RE: I was surprised to hear that CSCO very recently asked the analysts to send them their models. Post reg FD this seems like it could lead to some violations.
Actually, that whole thing was because of FD, not in spite of it.
Cisco has always asked analysts for models. Thing is, they used to ask just a few analysts for their models, the 'important ones'. After FD, Cisco figured (my guess) that they needed to include all the analysts in this request, not just a few, so as not to appear to be playing favorites. Thus, some analyst at Needham & Co. gets a call form Cisco, thinks it is a big deal, and then makes a big deal of it. The Goldman analyst doesn't think anything of it because Cisco has always asked for his model.
I agree, this could possibly be a violation of FD depending on how Cisco handled it, but it is closer to FD than how they formerly handled it. |
