Stock Grades

Retrieve analyst grades, ratings, and rating changes from top financial institutions using the Octagon MCP server.

Prerequisites

Ensure Octagon MCP is configured in your AI agent (Cursor, Claude Desktop, Windsurf, etc.). See references/mcp-setup.md for installation instructions.

Workflow

1. Identify the Stock

Determine the ticker symbol for the company you want to analyze (e.g., AAPL, MSFT, GOOGL).

2. Execute Query via Octagon MCP

Use the octagon-agent tool with a natural language prompt:

Get the latest stock grades for the symbol <TICKER> from top analysts and financial institutions.

MCP Call Format:

{
  "server": "octagon-mcp",
  "toolName": "octagon-agent",
  "arguments": {
    "prompt": "Get the latest stock grades for the symbol AAPL from top analysts and financial institutions."
  }
}

3. Expected Output

The agent returns analyst rating history including:

Rating Actions: Upgrades, downgrades, maintains
Analyst/Institution: Source of the rating
Previous Rating: Prior grade
New Rating: Current grade
Date: When the rating was issued

Example: Maxim Group upgraded from Hold to Buy on 2026-01-30

Data Sources: octagon-stock-data-agent

4. Interpret Results

See references/interpreting-results.md for guidance on:

Understanding rating scales
Analyzing upgrade/downgrade trends
Evaluating analyst credibility
Tracking sentiment changes

Example Queries

Basic Query:

Get the latest stock grades for the symbol AAPL from top analysts and financial institutions.

Recent Changes:

What are the most recent analyst rating changes for TSLA?

Upgrade Focus:

Show me recent upgrades for NVDA from major investment banks.

Historical View:

What is the history of analyst ratings for MSFT over the past year?

Specific Institution:

What is Goldman Sachs' current rating on AMZN?

Understanding Rating Scales

Common Rating Systems

Rating Level	Common Terms
Strong Buy	Buy, Overweight, Outperform
Buy	Accumulate, Add, Positive
Hold	Neutral, Market Perform, Equal-Weight
Sell	Underweight, Underperform, Reduce
Strong Sell	Sell, Avoid

Rating Equivalencies

Bank A	Bank B	Bank C	Meaning
Overweight	Buy	Outperform	Bullish
Equal-Weight	Hold	Market Perform	Neutral
Underweight	Sell	Underperform	Bearish

Rating Actions

Action Types

Action	Description
Upgrade	Rating improved (e.g., Hold → Buy)
Downgrade	Rating lowered (e.g., Buy → Hold)
Maintain	Rating unchanged (reaffirmed)
Initiate	New coverage started
Reiterate	Rating repeated with emphasis
Resume	Coverage restarted
Suspend	Coverage temporarily halted

Significance Ranking

Action	Impact
Upgrade from Sell	Highest positive
Upgrade from Hold	Significant positive
Initiate at Buy	Positive
Maintain at Buy	Stable positive
Downgrade to Hold	Negative signal
Downgrade to Sell	Highest negative

Analyst Credibility

Factors to Consider

Factor	Description
Track Record	Historical accuracy
Institution Tier	Major bank vs. boutique
Sector Expertise	Specialization
Coverage Length	Experience with stock
Independence	Conflicts of interest

Institution Tiers

Tier	Examples
Bulge Bracket	Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan
Major Banks	Bank of America, Citi, UBS
Boutiques	Wedbush, Piper Sandler, Needham
Independent	Morningstar, CFRA

Trend Analysis

Sentiment Indicators

Pattern	Interpretation
Multiple upgrades	Improving sentiment
Multiple downgrades	Deteriorating outlook
Mixed actions	Uncertainty/debate
All maintains	Stable consensus

Momentum Signals

Signal	Meaning
Upgrade cluster	Catalyst or breakout
Downgrade cluster	Concerns emerging
Initiation wave	Growing interest
Coverage drops	Reduced attention

Rating Distribution

Consensus Rating

Distribution	Interpretation
Mostly Buy	Strong bullish consensus
Mostly Hold	Neutral/wait-and-see
Mostly Sell	Bearish consensus
Mixed	Divergent views

Rating Counts

Metric	What It Shows
Buy %	Bullish proportion
Hold %	Neutral proportion
Sell %	Bearish proportion
Total Analysts	Coverage level

Timing Considerations

When Ratings Change

Catalyst	Typical Timing
Earnings	Day of or day after
Guidance	Within 24-48 hours
Product News	Same day
Macro Events	As needed
Sector Rotation	Periodic

Staleness

Age	Reliability
<1 month	Current view
1-3 months	Reasonably current
3-6 months	May be outdated
>6 months	Likely stale

Common Use Cases

Sentiment Check

What is the current analyst sentiment on AAPL?

Change Monitoring

Have any analysts upgraded or downgraded TSLA recently?

Catalyst Research

Why did analysts upgrade NVDA last week?

Consensus View

What percentage of analysts rate MSFT as a buy?

Historical Tracking

How has analyst sentiment on META changed over the past year?

Analysis Tips

Weight by institution: Major banks carry more weight.
Track changes, not just ratings: Upgrades/downgrades signal shifts.
Consider timing: Post-earnings ratings are most current.
Look for clusters: Multiple changes = significant.
Check track record: Some analysts are more accurate.
Combine with targets: Rating + price target = complete view.

Integration with Other Skills

Skill	Combined Use
price-target-consensus	Ratings + price targets
analyst-estimates	Ratings + earnings expectations
stock-quote	Rating changes + price reaction
stock-performance	Historical ratings vs. performance

stock-grades