Wall Street slang term that defines an analyst’s upgrade or downgrade for a stock or security for reasons that are deemed ludicrous by an observer.
An example of a clowngrade might be that an analyst recommends investors sell a stock for any odd reason, ranging from unreasonable earnings expectations to the fact that the CEO wears the same shirt color every day. That’s a “Clowngrade,” bro.
“Clowngrade” was coined by a man who referred to himself as “Downtown Josh Brown." In a blog post, Brown noted, “Can’t go using the term "B******* Downgrade" in polite company. So I came up with the term "Clowngrade" instead. As in: "Can you believe that imbecile at XYZ Securities just clowngraded Apple over iPod margins?’”
The term became popularized in 2014 on a channel known for regularly scheduled “clowngrades” from its Wall Street guests...CNBC.