Pity the research analyst. In the 79 years since the 1934 publication of Benjamin Graham and David Dodd’s Security Analysis, no other job on Wall Street has been characterized by more reputational and financial volatility.

Nearly one in three companies listed on the nation’s stock exchanges have little or no analyst coverage, and most of these are small caps, with market capitalization of less than $250 million, according to a report from Keating Capital.

In their latest report on the long-term ills affecting the IPO markets, David Weild and his co-authors laser lock on market structure and persuasively argue in a series of Grant Thornton white papers that increasing “tick” sizes will restore capital formation, jobs and investor confidence. Tick sizes? Yes, they’re talking about tick sizes (i.e., the minimum increment in which a stock can trade) and they’re right.

Cambridge, Mass.-based Jumptap, a startup focused on mobile advertising has appointed Frank Weishaupt as chief operating officer. The company recently raised $27.5 million in venture financing. Existing investors included General Catalyst Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Summerhill Ventures, Valhalla Partners, and WPP. New investor Keating Capital also participated in the round. PRESS RELEASE On the heels of [...]

An investor in Livescribe had written down its Series C investment by 67 percent as of March 31 in a possible sign of waning investor enthusiasm for the maker of gee-whiz, audio-recording pens. What, precisely, is the pen mightier than?

SilkRoad, a Chicago-based company focused on online human resources and “social talent management,” has raised a $35 million Series C financing round. Investors in the round include new investors Keating Capital and NTT Finance. Existing investors including Intel Capital, Crosslink Capital, Foundation Capital, Azure Capital and Tenaya Capital also joined in the round. Since 2003, [...]

LifeLock, Inc. said it completed its acquisition of ID Analytics and raised more than $100 million in preferred equity to pay for the deal. The list of participating investors reads like a who’s who of the venture business. Included were Bessemer Venture Partners, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Symantec Corporation, River [...]

Tremor Video, an independent online video advertising technology company has purchased media buying platform TubeMogul‘s video analytics business for publishers, InPlay. Founded in 2005, Tremor Video is backed by Canaan Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Growth, General Catalyst, Keating Capital, Meritech Capital Partners, Time Warner Investments, and W Capital Partners. PRESS RELEASE Tremor Video, the largest [...]

Agilyx Corp. said it raised $25 million in a Series C round led by Keating Capital and joined by existing investors Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, Saffron Hill Ventures, Waste Management, Total Energy Ventures International, Chrysalix Energy Venture Capital and Reference Capital.  Agilyx of Beaverton, Oregon., is working on a process to convert waste plastic [...]

Online video technology company Tremor Video has made two senior appointments. The company has added Todd Sloan as chief financial officer and has promoted chief marketing officer Melinda McLaughlin to senior vice president, chief marketing officer. Founded in 2005, Tremor Video is backed by venture investors including Canaan Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson Growth, General Catalyst, [...]