FeedPosted Nov 20th 2009 1:40PM by Sheldon Liber (RSS feed)
Filed under: Rumors, Market matters, Bank of America (BAC), Charles Schwab Corp (SCHW), TD AmeriTrade Holding (AMTD), Options, Wells Fargo (WFC), Chasing Value, E*TRADE (ETFC)

Look before you leap! All year long rumors have been swirling around that E*TRADE (
ETFC) was on the auction block being prepared for an acquisition by a bigger fish interested in its customers and superior trading platform. I have not used E-TRADE so I do not have first hand experience. However, this has been acknowledged broadly and I have received very positive comments from regular users when I have written about it.
The leading suitor seems to be TD AmeriTrade Holding (
AMTD), with Charles Schwab Corp (
SCHW) mentioned as perhaps having similar but less conspicuous interest. For Schwab it may be as much about keeping E-TRADE out of a competitors hands as chasing the business.
Continue reading Chasing Value: E-Trade, a word of caution
Posted Nov 19th 2009 4:00PM by Jon Ogg (RSS feed)
Filed under: Intel (INTC), Sears Holdings (SHLD), E*TRADE (ETFC)

Today's jobs data was
not bad, relatively any way, but the housing delinquencies and foreclosure rates was just awful and not representative of anything good. The overseas selling had the markets soft this morning and despite a recovery off lows the 'positive green line' was never really in the cards at the end of the trading day. The retailers are also running soft because of
excessive discounting and promotions before the holiday season even starts.
Here are the unofficial closing bell levels:
Dow 10,341.44 -84.87 (-0.81%)
S&P 500 1,094.90 -14.90 (-1.34%)
Nasdaq 2,156.82 -36.32 (-1.66%)
Top Analyst CallsTop Day Trader AlertsTop Stock/Market RumorsContinue reading Closing Bell: The grinch comes early (INTC, HOTT, MVIS, ETFC, SHLD)
Posted Nov 18th 2009 4:40PM by Sheldon Liber (RSS feed)
Filed under: Competitive strategy, Ford Motor (F), Market matters, FedEx Corp (FDX), United Parcel'B' (UPS), Options, Wells Fargo (WFC), Chasing Value, Stocks to Buy, E*TRADE (ETFC), EZCORP (EZPW)

Fourteen stocks have been reviewed so far with eight of them potential contenders for 2010. These include some picks from 2009, some old dependables and a few more on the speculative side.
During the year I have written on occasion about selling put options (naked puts) because the premiums offered were very generous and from my perspective assumed market collapse. This was reflected in my July post
Serious Money: The world's dumbest marketToday I am considering four naked puts and two more stocks. The options are all based on stocks now in review.
Continue reading Chasing Value: Ten stocks for 2010 -- Part 4
Posted Nov 18th 2009 4:00PM by Jon Ogg (RSS feed)
Filed under: Advanced Micro Dev (AMD), American Express (AXP), E*TRADE (ETFC)

The markets were higher before the economic data came to ruin the party. CPI came in higher than PPI on the inflation front, but there was a real disappointment in housing starts considering that many were expecting gains there. Oil inventory contractions across the board failed to boost that market considerably. A late day rally looked like a positive close was in the cards, but the buying action was only so much.
Here were today's closing levels:
Dow 10,426.31 -11.11 (-0.11%)
S&P 500 1,109.79 -0.53 (-0.05%)
Nasdaq 2,193.14 -10.64 (-0.48%)
Top Analyst CallsTop Day Trader AlertsTop Stock & Market RumorsContinue reading Closing Bell: An almost recovery (AMD, AXP, DRYS, ETFC, FTNT, VVUS)
Posted Nov 16th 2009 1:40PM by Sheldon Liber (RSS feed)
Filed under: International markets, China, Chasing Value, Stocks to Buy, E*TRADE (ETFC)

In this installment of our search for the ten picks for 2010, I will risk my reputation (and money) as I head in a more speculative direction. In
Part 1 of this series, I discussed breaking up my potential picks into three categories: "Contender", "On the Fence", and "Out of the Running", until the 10 stocks have been identified.
The following lists the first ten stocks I discussed and the current standing after
Part 2 of this series, plus four new stocks reviewed today.
Continue reading Chasing Value: Ten stocks for 2010 -- Part 3
Posted Oct 31st 2009 4:10PM by Trey Thoelcke (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Allergan (AGN), Aetna Inc (AET), TD AmeriTrade Holding (AMTD), RadioShack Corp (RSH), Goodyear Tire and Rubber (GT), E*TRADE (ETFC), Visa Inc. (V)
Continue reading Earnings highlights: Aetna, Allergan, E*Trade, Goodyear, RadioShack, SAP, Visa ...
Posted Oct 28th 2009 3:45PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings reports, Charles Schwab Corp (SCHW), TD AmeriTrade Holding (AMTD), E*TRADE (ETFC)
E*Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC) is a well-known brand in the broker space. It competes vigorously with the other giants, TD Ameritrade (NASDAQ: AMTD) and Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW). To be honest, if I were looking for investment ideas in this sector, I would probably begin my search with the latter two. It's difficult to put E*Trade on the list. The company got in trouble during the financial crisis because it was exposed to the mortgage industry. It has now become, in my opinion, a speculative play on a return to glory.
The latest earnings report shows what I'm talking about. For the third quarter, E*Trade lost, on a GAAP basis, 66 cents per share from continuing operations, wider than the year-ago loss of 60 cents per share from continuing operations. After adjusting for an item related to debt extinguishment, the current red ink is equal to 5 cents per share.
Continue reading E*Trade loses less than expected in third quarter -- is this a victory?
Posted Oct 2nd 2009 10:50AM by Laurie Pasternack (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Apple Inc (AAPL), General Electric (GE), Nokia Corp. (NOK), Citigroup Inc. (C), Bank of America (BAC), Comcast Cl'A' (CMCSA), Analyst initiations, Rio Tinto plc ADS (RTP), E*TRADE (ETFC), U.S. Bancorp (USB)
Analyst upgrades:
- UBS upgraded Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to Buy from Neutral and raised its target to $265 from $170, citing higher iPhone expectations, new partnerships, and likely upward revisions to Street estimates driven by gross margins.
- Wells Fargo upgraded Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) to Outperform from Market Perform. The firm views a possible deal between end General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal positively, as it thinks NBC will provide higher-margin growth for Comcast.
- Janney Montgomery upgraded Michael Baker (AMEX: BKR) to Buy from Neutral after the company completed the sale of its Energy business. The firm raised its target on shares to $46 from $40.
- Jefferies assumed coverage of Endo Pharma (NASDAQ: ENDP) and upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold. The firm cites valuation, a strong base business, and solid cash flow for the upgrade, and has a $30 target price on shares.
- Marten Transport (NASDAQ: MRTN) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.
- U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AAPL, BAC, C, CMCSA, NOK, USB ...
Posted Sep 14th 2009 11:20AM by Eric Buscemi (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Microsoft (MSFT), Motorola (MOT), Alcoa Inc (AA), Analyst initiations, E*TRADE (ETFC)
Analyst upgrades:
- Kaufman Bros. upgraded Computer Sciences (NYSE: CSC) and Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) to Buy from Hold on better demand trends as it believes overall enterprise IT spending is turning more positive. The firm raised its target on Computer Sciences to $62 from $54 and on Cognizant to $45 from $42.
- Citigroup upgraded E-Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC) to Buy from Hold as it believes loan less trends have improved and the company could potentially be acquired. Citi raised its target on shares to $2.30 from $1.50.
- Auriga upgraded Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to Buy from Hold as it believes consensus expectations for 2010 are too low, but admits the company's Q1 results could be fairly weak. Auriga believes Microsoft is coming up to its "most powerful product cycle in many years" and raised its price target on shares to $30 from $24.
- Motorola (NYSE: MOT) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.
- Fidelity Southern (NASDAQ: LION) was upgraded to Neutral from Reduce at SunTrust.
- Sonoco Products (NYSE: SON) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
Continue reading Analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations: AA, ETFC, FIATY, MOT, MSFT, POT ...
Posted Aug 26th 2009 4:00PM by Jon Ogg (RSS feed)
Filed under: Toyota Motor Corp. (TM), Eastman Kodak (EK), Vonage Holdings (VG), E*TRADE (ETFC)

Today was one of those directionless trading days after so many gains that there was absolutely no way to know if the markets would be up or down until the last few seconds of the day. We had a very strong durable goods reading for July and even home sales figures remained high.
Here were today's closing bell levels:
Dow 9,543.52 +4.23 (0.04%)
S&P 500 1,028.12 +0.12 (0.01%)
Nasdaq 2,024.43 +0.20 (0.01%)
Top Analyst CallsMost Unusual VolumeContinue reading Closing Bell: A directionless win... sort of (ETFC, EK, TM, VG, WSM)
Posted Aug 17th 2009 4:00PM by Jon Ogg (RSS feed)
Filed under: Aetna Inc (AET), AFLAC Inc (AFL), Lowe's Cos (LOW), E*TRADE (ETFC)

Today's weakness was due to two issues. First was a much needed pullback after a monster run-up in the markets. Second was a weak Asian market turnout that spilled over to the west on concerns that maybe the recent gains did not add up to as high as share prices had gone. The stronger NY Fed District manufacturing data was merely a footnote. The bears might claim a decisive victory because there were no major rallies, but keep in mind that this is a summer Monday with light trading desks.
Here were today's unofficial closing bell levels:
Dow 9,135.34 -186.06 (-2.00%)
S&P 500 979.72 -24.37 (-2.43%)
Nasdaq 1,930.84 -54.68 (-2.75%)
Top 10 Analyst CallsContinue reading Closing Bell: Bears win decisive victory, sort of (AET, AFL, AEZS, FSLR, LOW)
Posted Aug 11th 2009 10:10AM by Jim Cramer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Market matters, Regions Financial (RF), CIT Group (CIT), Federal Natl Mtge (FNM), Amer Intl Group (AIG), Stocks to Buy, Cramer on BloggingStocks, E*TRADE (ETFC)
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says many stocks, considered frothy at one time, have turned into good turnaround stories. Here's still one more version of a short-seller's nightmare. What happens when froth turns to investible? What happens when you see behavior that clearly indicates froth and then, somehow, the fundamentals change, and the stock takes off?
We have seen that recently in so many situations that it is pretty dazzling. It was one thing to see
Genworth (NYSE:
GNW) (
Cramer's Take) back from the dead on its own.
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: From froth to investible
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