Is a Convertible Bond Call Really Bad News?

The article tests and rejects the hypothesis that managers call in-the-money convertibles when they view a decline in the value of the firm as likely. Inconsistent with this view, it finds that insiders generally buy equity before conversion-forcing calls. Also, analysts tend to raise their earnings forecasts following a call. There is no evidence that earnings analysts interpret a conversion-forcing call as bad news. Indeed there is evidence that, relative to firms in general, analysts are revising their earnings forecasts upward in the months surrounding conversion-forcing calls. The article concludes that an announcement of a conversion-forcing call of a firm\u27s convertible bonds is accompanied by a small decline in the price of the firm\u27s common equity