▁fin ance ▁involves ▁the ▁use ▁of ▁security ▁anal yst ▁personnel ▁to ▁gather ▁information ▁about ▁a ▁company ▁or ▁corpor ation ▁to ▁evaluate ▁and ▁determine ▁its ▁financial ▁stability . ▁In ▁addition ▁to ▁public ▁information ▁available ▁to ▁all ▁invest ors , ▁se cur ities ▁anal yst s ▁also ▁have ▁access ▁to ▁non - public ▁information ▁which ▁the ▁vast ▁majority ▁of ▁invest ors ▁do ▁not ▁possess . ▁Tr ading ▁based ▁on ▁such ▁non - public ▁information ▁can ▁be ▁considered ▁illegal ▁if ▁the ▁information ▁is ▁also ▁material , ▁as ▁defined ▁by ▁ins ider ▁trad ing ▁law . ▁However , ▁by ▁gather ing ▁various ▁non - material ▁information , ▁often ▁from ▁sources ▁at ▁or ▁close ▁to ▁the ▁issu ing ▁corpor ation , ▁an ▁anal yst ▁can ▁draw ▁useful ▁conclus ions ▁about ▁the ▁current ▁and ▁future ▁health ▁of ▁the ▁company , ▁allowing ▁them ▁to ▁profit ▁from ▁trans act ing ▁in ▁shares ▁of ▁its ▁stock ▁and ▁related ▁derivative ▁contract s . ▁However , ▁ext rap ol ating ▁conclus ions ▁from ▁a ▁" mos iac " ▁of ▁such ▁bits ▁of ▁non - public ▁information ▁can ▁be ▁vague , ▁sometimes ▁leading ▁anal yst s ▁to ▁false ▁conclus ions ▁about ▁the ▁corpor ation . ▁Security ▁anal yst s ▁then ▁have ▁to ▁sort ▁through ▁the ▁data ▁collected ▁and ▁make ▁recommend ations ▁to ▁their ▁clients ▁or ▁keep ▁the ▁information ▁to ▁themselves ▁to ▁use ▁later ▁for ▁personal ▁profit ▁based ▁on ▁determ ining ▁the ▁underlying ▁value ▁of ▁a ▁company ' s ▁se cur ities . ▁Since ▁the ▁Commission ' s ▁Fair ▁Dis closure ▁rule ▁( Reg ▁F D