Wall Street Heavy With Technology Analysts

Wall Street remains home to a relatively high proportion of technology-sector analysts, despite pressure on share prices.

Even in the wake of the 2003 settlement meant to sever ties between analyst compensation and investment banking deals, Wall Street likes to focus attention on industries that can generate underwriting fees and other business, or spur significant trading volume, says The Wall Street Journal.

So, while the banks employ fewer analysts now than they did during the late 1990s, a higher proportion are technology sector specialists. Specifically, there were 23.53 analysts per S&P 500 tech stock in April, 22 percent higher than the average 19.25 analysts working on tech stocks during 2000-2001. The numbers were compiled by Francois Trahan, Bear Stearns' chief investment strategist, who told the Journal that technology, telecommunications and health care are the "most overrepresented sectors" among analysts today.

Although the energy sector - along with utilities and financial companies - is getting the least attention now, Trahan said he expects investment banks and research firms to begin hiring more energy-sector analysts "in a couple of years."