A Tale of Three Schools: Insights on Autocorrelations of Short-Horizon Stock Returns.

This article reexamines the autocorrelation patterns of short-horizon stock returns. We document empirical results which imply that these autocorrelations have been overstated in the existing literature. Based on several new insights, we provide support for a market efficiency-based explanation of the evidence. Our analysis suggests that institutional factors are the most likely source of the autocorrelation patterns. Article published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Financial Studies in its journal, The Review of Financial Studies.