<prompt> Human: I am new to investing and have been wondering this for a bit. I feel that its intuitive to think that if a stock has a buy rating then the market believes it has the potential to increase in price and therefore a good sign for the company. Can anyone explain to me why a buy rating is a downgrade?  <response>: It depends on what the stocks previous rating was. If it was a strong buy and is now a buy, then its been downgraded. If it was a sell and is now a buy, its been upgraded. 