Are we talking several weeks or several days? Does the amount of time change much between estimating a P/E multiple and projecting 1 year earnings, or modeling a DCF 5 years out?
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That totally depends on like.. a bazillion items. For example, are you factoring in the time it takes to forge, develop, and continue cultivate industry contacts? 'Cause that whole part is going to be pretty key to any worthwhile/"good" equity research report from a professional standpoint.
If you're reducing it all down to the time it takes to produce a quarterly report.. obviously it's a somewhat manageable bit of work, since an equity analyst is going to be covering several companies, and he (I hope) generates a pre-and-post 10-Q report which includes analysis and revisions (if applicable).
That said, you seem to be fixated on the projection/"price target" aspect of the reports, and how various different methodologies will impact your total time commitment. In my experience, which is mostly as a consumer of research, I can say that (sophisticated/relevant) people don't care about the specific price target / detailed projection that an equity analyst might provide.
And while I'm sure that analysts who choose to provide a price target do spend quite a bit of time on that process, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest to learn that tons of guys have a number, or at least a ballpark number in mind, and they develop the valuation to suit their recommendation and/or price target.
Depends on the report? An earnings release? less than 3 hours. A brand new initiation report, including building the model etc? At least 3 weeks.
Agreed for the init. report. From my experience, building a model will take a week or two, depending on work flow. The writing itself is much easier if you have an outline and thesis already determined. The first few sections will be unique to your thesis while the rest should be factual. All assuming the company is publicly traded. The writing shouldn't take long but this also depends on the composition of charts and text (and the time to gather data for charts and format them).
Thanks all. I just wanted to make sure I was not "disqualifyingly slow."
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