As part of the effort required by recent changes
in the law to make in-house analysis more transparent, or open,
these stock research reports include
disclosures
about conflicts of interest and other information:
Analyst certification: The analyst certifies that he or she has given an objective,
accurate opinion, and that his or her compensation isn't tied
to the recommendation. In other words, the firm doesn't tie
the analyst's paycheck to the ratings.
Conflict
of interest disclosures: The firm that provides analysis
of a company's stock must disclose whether they've provided investment banking services to that company, or whether
they're seeking to do business with them. They must also disclose
whether they hold any shares in the company's stock and how
their analysts are compensated.
Ratings distribution: If a firm has rated everything a buy, you'll see it here.
That's because firms must include in their reports a breakdown
of the number of stocks they've rated in each category, so
you can see whether analysis at the firm seems reasonable,
or whether it leans toward the overly bullish.
Ratings explanation: Since not every firm uses familiar terms for their ratings,
they must explain their system in easy-to-understand terms.
Analyst track record: To give investors an easier way to gauge an analyst's accuracy,
reports include charts that illustrate an analyst's price
targets and ratings compared to the stock's actual performance.
Sam Stovall,
Chief Investment Strategist at Standard & Poor’s
Sam Stovall, 
