Dick Bove weighs client opinion in Citi rating

1:39 PM, March 22, 2010 ι By Mark DeCambre

It's rare on Wall Street for clients to tell financial analysts how to do their jobs -- but apparently, that's what Dick Bove's clients do.
The Rochdale Securities analyst raised Citi's rating to Buy from Neutral in a research note released today. But that's not the interesting element. By lifting his rating on Citi, which has been a beset by problems tied to the government's massive stake in it, the outspoken analyst is kowtowing to his clients wishes.
"I feared that the government’s potential sale of 7.7 billion shares would cause the issue to fall before it could rise," Bove wrote. "The clients’ view is that this is poor thinking on my part. Either I liked the stock’s long term outlook or I did not they claimed. The price of the offering was already priced in.
"There are two core questions. 1) Do you like this company or not? 2) Do you believe the price of the stock will get to $8.50 per share in the next few years or not? The answers are yes and yes. Then say clients I should have a Buy on the stock.," he concludes.

Source : http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/thespread/dick_bove_weighs_client_opinion_HIq1Pk6MWlMthtmol5y0AP