Zacks Investment Research is a firm based in the United States that specializes in producing independent research and investment-related material. Len Zacks, equipped with a Ph.D. from MIT, founded the company in 1978 and made a significant discovery: The most significant driver influencing stock prices is earnings estimate changes. The firm delivers financial data and analysis to professional investors to assist them to make better investment decisions for their own accounts as well as their customers’ accounts. Zacks is arguably most recognized for its broad range of consensus earnings-per-share (EPS) forecasts. More recently, the firm has expanded into other areas such as research reports, stock recommendation summaries, stock prices, funds, charts and tables, and a variety of other investing tools and data.