A little more commentary on Abby-baby, her advice for today, & other analysts:
Top Wall Street strategists say buy
By Noelle Knox, USA TODAY
NEW YORK — Abby Joseph Cohen, one of Wall Street's most prominent
bulls, said Wednesday it's time to buy more stocks, suggesting the markets are
poised to rise.
The Goldman Sachs strategist advised clients to put 70% of their investments in
stocks, up from 65%. This is the first time Cohen has changed her
asset-allocation recommendation since saying to scale back on stocks last
March, when the Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq composite set records.
Since then, the S&P, a broad market indicator, has fallen almost 18%, while the
technology-focused Nasdaq has slumped 56%. "Risks remain, but they are
mainly of time, rather than further notable price declines," she said.
Cohen is the third strategist this week to paint a rosier picture of Wall Street.
Monday, Merrill Lynch's David Bowers and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter's Jay
Pelosky advised buying more U.S. stocks. Wednesday, stocks rallied for the
third straight day, despite profit warnings from tech leaders JDS Uniphase and
Broadcom.
While Cohen has in the past lifted investors' spirits because of accurate calls
during the '90s bull market, her recent record has been less than impressive:
In early October, she turned bullish on techs for the first time in a year. Since
then, the Nasdaq is down 35%.
In mid-November, she said stock prices, especially techs, were "the most
attractive they have been all year." That may have been true, but the Nasdaq
continued to slide and is down more than 25% since.
And last week, Goldman Sachs' team of tech analysts cut profit predictions for
software companies and said tech stocks could continue to suffer in the second
half of the year.
Some of Cohen's rivals are still preaching caution. "Investors should still be
thinking defense," says Douglas Cliggott, strategist at J.P. Morgan. "There are
still very significant risks to earnings for at least the next two quarters. The
major trend in the Nasdaq is still down."
Contributing: Adam Shell |
