From Tech Trader Daily:
Cree Rallies On Sidoti Upgrade
Cree (CREE) shares are trading sharply higher, apparently on an upgrade of the LED lighting company’s stock by the research firm Sidoti & Co. to Buy from Neutral.
Will pass along details when I get them. (Or send them my way, if you happen to have the report.)...
Here's Sidoti & Co.'s "History" page:
Peter Sidoti, the Chief Executive Officer and a leading healthcare analyst for 20 years between Value Line, Drexel Burnham, Natwest Markets and Schroders, formed Sidoti & Company, LLC in 1999 to address the dearth of research on companies not included in the S&P 500 or generating investment banking fees. The founding team identified a significant market of institutional investors willing to pay for research, contrary to the Street’s conventional wisdom predating the Internet Bubble.
Our Firm originated as a small part of the research team at NatWest Markets in 1996, with five analysts initiating coverage of 30 companies with market caps below $300 million. The Group moved to Schroders in July 1997 following the collapse of NatWest, and expanded to 12 analysts and 100 equities of $1.5 billion market cap or less. Schroders shuttered the operation in January 1999; in our opinion, the firm viewed small cap research as a hindrance to its competition for investment banking business with larger corporations.
Sidoti & Company, LLC received its broker/dealer license from FINRA in May 2000, which allowed the Group to charge commission from its institutional client base, and for our customers to pay for services using a more-traditional method than soft dollar converters; the changeover proved dramatic to the top line. In addition, our Trading Desk launched in April 2004; the lead sales trader boasts more than 20 years of experience.
