Henry Blodget

Star Internet Analyst, Merrill Lynch

The Blodget legend, as market mavens know, began in 1998 when the obscure analyst predicted that Amazon stock, then selling at $243, would hit $400 within a year. Blodget's call got so much media attention that the online bookseller shot past the $400 mark in less than three weeks, and Blodget landed at Merrill Lynch. Amazon is now selling for $12.25.

Henry Blodget, Merrill Lynch's star Internet analyst, confirmed Wednesday that he accepted a buyout offer from the firm, according to a New York Times report. Merrill Lynch had made the offer to about 50,000 of its employees this month. Blodget's severance package is estimated to be worth about $2 million, the Times said. More...

Merrill Lynch and Henry Blodget Charged with Securities Fraud by The Pomerantz Firm on Behalf of Purchasers of 24/7 Real Media
The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants' research reports and ratings on 24/7 were neither independent nor objective, but instead were biased and improperly influenced by Merrill Lynch's lucrative investment banking business relationships with this important client. In order to maintain and enhance Merrill Lynch's investment banking relationships with 24/7, defendants issued positive ratings on the Company which were materially misleading as they were inconsistent with their own contemporaneous, private adverse assessments of 24/7. For example, defendants were repeatedly issuing a short and long-term accumulate rating on 24/7 despite Blodget's internal description of 24/7 as a 'piece of shit.' More...

Who Blew the Dot-Com Bubble? The Cautionary Tale of Henry Blodget
The Merrill Lynch analyst rode a tidal wave of publicity as the Net stocks he was touting soared toward the stratosphere. Now that his top recommendations have plunged 79 percent -- including eToys and Pets.com, both of which have shut down -- the Times says Blodget and others like him go 'a long way toward explaining why the market for technology stocks has since crashed.' More...