analyst

noun

an·a·lyst | \ˈa-nə-ləst

Definition of analyst

1 : a person who analyzes or who is skilled in analysis

2 : psychoanalyst

Examples of analyst in a Sentence

My analyst felt that I was making good progress.

Recent Examples on the Web

But investors and analysts, along with a banker not involved in the bidding, don't expect Fox to sit idly by and try to seal a deal of its own. — Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, "What's Next in the Bidding War for Sky?," 13 July 2018 Blandino currently serves as a FOX Sports NFL and college football rules analyst, but formerly oversaw officiating in the NFL from 2013 to 2017, as the league's senior vice president of officiating. — The Heat Index, azcentral, "EX-NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino roasted on Twitter over airport worker Tweet," 13 July 2018 On a call with analysts, bank executives fielded multiple questions about its efficiency goals. — Christina Rexrode, WSJ, "Citigroup Earnings Lifted by Growing Loans," 13 July 2018 The path outlined by progressive trade analysts would create global labor standards, with decent wages and working conditions and health safeguards, adjusting for the level of development in a particular country. — David Dayen, The New Republic, "The Inevitable Death of Global Trade As We Know It," 12 July 2018 But according to the data analyst, who has spent stints at Redfin and Denmark’s Gehl Architects, Philadelphia’s parking count was derived from an analysis of three complex data sets. — Caitlin Mccabe, Philly.com, "Philadelphia has 2,172,896 parking spaces. So how come you're still circling the block?," 12 July 2018 This year, five such players have entered their names, and according to several draft analysts, the chance of someone being selected for the first time since 2015 is good. — Blair Kerkhoff, kansascity, "Not so fast: Chiefs might not be finished drafting players for 2018," 10 July 2018 Positions are wide-ranging, including sales representatives, customer service, finance and data analysts, material handlers, commodity buyers, sporting event greeters, marketing associates, caregivers and insurance agents. — Marcia Heroux Pounds, Sun-Sentinel.com, "More than 35 employers hiring at July 11 job fair in Miami Lakes," 6 July 2018 Matt Kryger/IndyStar Fantasy football analysts, Vegas oddsmakers and media generally aren’t optimistic about the Colts’ 2018 season, even though Andrew Luck is once again throwing an actual NFL football. — Indianapolis Star, "Andrew Luck is throwing. Oddsmakers and analysts aren't buying it.," 28 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'analyst.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

7 Oct 2018

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The first known use of analyst was in 1656

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More Definitions for analyst

analyst

noun

Financial Definition of analyst

What It Is

An analyst gathers and interprets data about securities, companies, corporate strategies, economies or financial markets. Analysts are sometimes called financial analysts, securities analysts, equity analysts or investment analysts (although there is a distinction among these titles).

How It Works

Much of an analyst's job involves gathering data from publications, researchers and other sources; creating financial models; and writing reports or making presentations. Analysts are heavily involved with mergers and acquisitions, consulting, corporate strategy, bankruptcy, and myriad other financially important processes. Thus, their projects can be wide-ranging, and can include creating a company's budget for the coming years; deciding what sort of buy-or-sell advice to give clients; evaluating the prospects for a particular security; or deciding how much to pay to acquire a certain company. Securities analysts in particular usually write research reports for clients and offer buy and sell recommendations.

Analysts work for public and private companies, nonprofit organizations, investment banks, brokerage firms, insurance companies, government entities and nearly any other organization that is concerned about making sound financial decisions. They must be able to work well with clients, peers and their bosses; explain their ideas quickly and precisely; have presentation skills; and be extremely confident with spreadsheets and numbers. Some travel a lot. Analysts typically work considerably long work weeks, particularly early in their careers.

Analysts often have undergraduate or graduate business degrees, but many investment firms train entry-level analysts, which means an undergraduate degree in business is not always necessary if a candidate shows aptitude. Some analysts also enter the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program to further their credentials. Many analysts go on to become senior analysts, investment bankers, consultants, advisors and chief financial officers.

Why It Matters

An analyst helps people make decisions. Analysts gather and interpret data to do this, and quite often they have to project future events. To do this well, an analyst has to stay on top of industry and company trends, market trends, economic trends, new regulations, changes in accounting rules, and a host of other information.

For this reason, analysts carry a great degree of responsibility. The results of their analyses frequently determine the course of major decisions, and a mistake in a spreadsheet or an overlooked piece of information could mean inadvertently making the wrong decisions, which could have far-reaching effects on client portfolios, stock prices, corporate strategies or even a company's solvency.

Source: Investing Answers

analyst

noun