This Just In: Upgrades and Downgrades

At The Motley Fool, we poke plenty of fun at Wall Street analysts and their endless cycle of upgrades, downgrades, and "initiating coverage at neutral." So you might think we'd be the last people to give virtual ink to such "news." And we would be -- if that were all we were doing.

But in "This Just In," we don't simply tell you what the analysts said. We'll also show you whether they know what they're talking about. To help, we've enlisted Motley Fool CAPS, our tool for rating stocks and analysts alike. With CAPS, we'll be tracking the long-term performance of Wall Street's best and brightest -- and its worst and sorriest, too.

And speaking of the best ...
As the week's trading drew to a close on Friday, growth-oriented equity house Caris & Co. did an abrupt about-face, upgrading chic women's apparelier bebe stores (NASDAQ:BEBE) from "below average" to "above average." This, Fools, is an upgrade worth noting

Now, I know what you're thinking: "But Rich, Caris is a second-string shop at best. Its CAPS rating is a measly 80.08, barely admitting it to the All-Star club, and its accuracy is sub-50%!"

All true. Still, Caris has made some savvy calls in the past. For instance:

Of course, it's also made a few blunders (hence the 49% accuracy rating):

While Caris' overall record may not impress, it has shown itself capable of picking winners in the retail clothing space. More importantly, the last time Caris hung a rating around bebe's neck -- calling it an underperformer back in November 2006 -- the stock proceeded to lose 23% of its value through Friday's upgrade, against a 4% rise in the S&P 500.

Whether Caris' latest call on bebe will turn out similarly well for the analyst remains to be seen, but I have to point out that in endorsing bebe last week, Caris was in good company. As recently as January, Fool co-founder Tom Gardner gave us his thoughts on bebe (30-day free trial to Motley Fool Stock Advisor required).

Discussing the retailer's recent earnings warning, Tom reminded investors, "Taking a longer look at things, bebe ... has been able to consistently rectify any softness in its sales over the past few years. Additionally ... bebe is actually raising same-store sales, so this is an expectations miss, not an execution miss." Words to remember, Fools. Also worth remembering -- since he first recommended bebe, the stock is up a good 22%.

So there you have it, folks. Two proven performers like bebe's prospects. Who else knows it? Who else likes it? Discover the identity of the investor with the best CAPS record on predicting the stock's performance, and find out.

Fool contributor Rich Smith does not own shares of any company named above. You can find him on CAPS, publicly pontificating under the handle TMFDitty, where he's currently ranked 60th out of nearly 25,000 raters. bebe is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor choice. Panacos is a Rule Breakers choice. The Fool has a disclosure policy.