In the short run, at least, the herd behavior of the pros makes it even harder for you to take a winning bet against the "speculative element" in a stock's price.

WSJ: Intelligent Investor: Don't Bet the House on Efficient-Market Model

Emotional investors behave like a herd copying and replicating the behavior of one another, fearing that they will miss out on a market uptrend or be crashed in the market downtrend.

FORBES: How to Amass and Lose a Fortune on Wall Street

Analysts get close to the government entities and companies under their coverage, making analysts more sympathetic to the securities they are covering. (Not to mention making it easier to miss the forest for all the trees.) Analysts also succumb to herd behavior, meaning they are unlikely to create a forecast or reach a conclusion that is significantly different from that of their peers.

FORBES: Analysts Pressured To Be Positive