A Maverick On Wall Street: Meredith Whitney – The Analyst Whose Bold Call On Citi Convinced Wall Street

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“I think the world of her.  She’s bold and she nails it.”

A multi billion dollar portfolio manager

“Meredith is not afraid to say what she thinks.  I think her call on Citi was dead on.  She stripped the company naked.”

Hedge Fund Manager Steve Eisman

“Our thesis is simple.  We believe Citigroup will need to raise over $30 billion in capital as a result of its tangible capital ratios falling to the lowest levels in decades, now standing at almost half their peer group average at just 2.8%.”

CIBC Analyst Meredith Whitney, in her note downgrading Citi (C) to “Sell” on Wednesday October 31

When CIBC analyst Meredith Whitney downgraded Citigroup to “Sell” after the close on Wednesday October 31st, she catalyzed a huge downward movement in the stock as analysts and money managers across Wall Street began to reckon with her analysis in the days that followed. 

Ultimately, it led to Citigroup admitting to more writedowns on its CDO portfolio (Press Release) and the ousting of CEO Chuck Prince (Press Release).

The stock, already stagnant and trending down, collapsed in the wake of Whitney’s call, falling 28% since (C YTD Chart).

*****

Whitney came to Wall Street 16 years ago, with a history major from Brown and no formal training in financial analysis. 

A few years ago, the beautiful Whitney did a stint as a commentator on Fox News.

In their profile of her, BusinessWeek said Whitney has a history of bold calls and called her “A Maverick On Wall Street”.

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