When deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold a stock, investors often rely on analyst recommendations. Media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm-employed (or sell-side) analysts often influence a stock's price, but are they really important? Let's take a look at what these Wall Street heavyweights have to say about Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX) before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage. Crocs currently has an average brokerage recommendation of 1.36, on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by 11 brokerage firms. An ABR of 1.36 approximates between Strong Buy and Buy. Of the 11 recommendations that derive the current ABR, nine are Strong Buy, representing 81.8% of all recommendations. Brokerage Recommendation Trends for CROX The ABR suggests buying Crocs, but making an investment decision solely on the basis of this information might not be a good idea. According to several studies, brokerage recommendations have little to no success guiding investors to choose stocks with the most potential for price appreciation. Do you wonder why? As a result of the vested interest of brokerage firms in a stock they cover, ...