Why is Yahoo stock holding up so well?

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After Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) announced it was withdrawing its offer for Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) I thought that Yahoo stock would end today at $19 -- which is where it traded before the deal was announced. But Yahoo is currently trading over $24.

Here are three reasons that Yahoo may be trading $5 above where it was pre-Microsoft:

  • Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) deal. Investors are ascribing some value to the possibility that Google will sell some of Yahoo's search advertising;
  • Short covering. Investors who bet on the deal falling apart may be covering their short positions in Yahoo -- keeping a floor beneath its stock price;
  • Still in play. Microsoft may buy up a control position in Yahoo at the current market price and return to negotiate a Yahoo takeover at a lower price.

One thing seems likely to me -- investors are not piling into the stock because they believe that Yahoo has some money making strategy up its sleeve that will accelerate its earnings growth. But I hope for Yahoo shareholder's sake that I'm wrong.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned.

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DJIA+150.2510,058.64
NASDAQ+24.822,150.87
S&P 500+13.781,070.52

Last updated: February 09, 2010: 05:04 PM

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