E*Trade (ETFC), an online broker whose colleagues include Charles Schwab (SCHW) and TD Ameritrade (AMTD), is a low-priced stock. It closed on Wednesday at $1.82, representing a rise of 2.8%; the move was backed by strong volume. The company reported first-quarter earnings yesterday after the bell. What should we make of the results?

According to MarketWatch, things seem to be improving. A loss of 2 cents per share compared very favorably to the loss of 41 cents per share booked in the year-ago period. As for estimates, the analysts were thinking that a loss of 3 cents per share was in the offing.

Continue reading E-Trade Still Speculative After Q1

E-Trade Still Speculative After Q1 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 22 Apr 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Charles Schwab (SCHW) issues Q4 profit warning

Charles Schwab (SCHW) issues Q4 profit warning originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: E-Trade, a word of caution

Chasing Value: E-Trade, a word of caution originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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?

E*Trade loses less than expected in third quarter -- is this a victory? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The brokerage reported a Q1 loss that was wider than the year-ago number. E*Trade lost 41 cents per share versus a loss of 20 cents per share in 2008. According to this source, that was a penny worse than what Wall Street was bracing itself for.

Continue reading E*Trade loses more money -- why would I want to own this stock?

E*Trade loses more money -- why would I want to own this stock? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Apr 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

E Trade Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC), which competes with TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: AMTD) and Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW), is doing splendidly today. As I write this, the stock is up well over 15%. But I would not touch this one with a ten-foot pole, as they say.

According to this article, E*Trade reported a quarterly loss on Tuesday of $0.50 per share. While that was a lot better than the $3.98 per-share loss reported in last year's Q4, it wasn't enough to beat expectations. Wall Street was hoping for a loss of $0.24 per share. E*Trade said in its press release that daily average revenue trades increased 18% and that 97,000 new accounts were captured. While both of those stats are impressive to a certain degree, an investor must keep in mind that E*Trade is a complicated story. The company really screwed itself by exposing its shareholders to so much financial risk; sure, that might be hindsight now, but it nevertheless is true. And with all the loan provisions and all the issues with the company's involvement with applying for the government's TARP initiative, etc., I can tell you that I absolutely would not want to play around with this stock.

Continue reading E*Trade misses in Q4, but stock rises anyway

E*Trade misses in Q4, but stock rises anyway originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ: NDAQ) closed at $23.80. Bernard Madoff of Bernard Madoff Investment Securities LLC, was arrested by Federal agents because his investment advisory business was a "giant Poinzi scheme" reports the Wall Street Journal. NDAQ January option implied volatility of 85 is above its 26-week average of 70 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) closed at $25.98. NYX January option implied volatility of 97 is above its 26-week average of 72 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW) closed at $16.98. SCHW January option implied volatility of 99 is above its 26-week average of 61 according to Track Data, suggesting larger movement.

TD AmeriTrade (NASDAQ: AMTD) closed at $12.92. AMTD January option implied volatility of 82 is above its 26-week average of 60 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Options Update: Capital liquidity providers volatility elevated into Madoff arrest (NDAQ, NYX, SCHW, AMTD) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I have been posting so much bad news over the last couple of years that I thought it would be interesting to try something different for a change: look for something that's truly good. If I can find it, I'll tell you what the good news is, why it's important, and what it means for the rest of the world.

Charles Schwab, Chair of Charles Schwab Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHW) sees a bright future for stocks. He pins the blame for the current mess on a 2004 SEC ruling coupled with Alan Greenspan's lax attitude towards mortgage abuses. And he has some great career advice: do what you love.

The one down note in his interview in Fortune with Geoff Colvin, author of Talent is Overrated, is that Schwab claims his firm is in "great shape." But a look at the numbers tell a different story. Its stock is down 28% this year and it burned through $1.9 billion in cash through operations and investing in the quarter ending September 2008 (although it made a $304 million profit on $1.25 billion sales). Schwab is in relatively great shape but it is not without its challenges.

Continue reading Good News Watch: Charles Schwab sees 40% S&P 500 pop

Good News Watch: Charles Schwab sees 40% S&P 500 pop originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If there is definitely one stock to avoid these days, it's E*Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC). I went back and forth on it over the summer, wondering if it was worthy of a trade at certain points, but after the broker's Q3 earnings report, I just don't have any good feelings about it right now.

Total net revenue declined over 21% to $377.7 million. The net loss per share from continuing operations on a diluted basis plummeted over 300% to $0.60. E*Trade, as we all know, has been a victim of the whole financial debacle. It's provision for loan losses was $517.8 million in the third quarter. This compares to a provision of $186.5 million in the previous year's similar quarter.

E*Trade states in its release that it is trying to further reduce its exposure to risk and it's keen on shoring up the balance sheet. Good attitude, I suppose. Also, daily average revenue trades for Q3 were up 7%. But it doesn't mean anything. This was a terrible quarter. The data is both horrible and telling.

It's a simple proposition for me: stay far away from E*Trade. Sure, there will come a time when the stock might make for a good investment, but that's a long way off. Technically, the stock is weak. And the broker will be unwinding its exposure to the financial markets for a while.

Continue reading E*Trade: Don't trade it!

E*Trade: Don't trade it! originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"We continue to apply our value-oriented principles in selecting new growth stocks as we look for companies with superior profitability and strong balance sheets," says Jim Stack.

In his InvesTech Market Analyst, he and analyst Bruce Morison explain, "Our latest featured investment, Charles Schwab Corp. (NASDAQ: SCHW), is a prime example and stands out as a conservative way to access to opportunities in the battered financial group."

"We are increasing our equity allocation in stocks that should show strong relative performance in a market upturn.

"We continue, however, to be very selective in terms of quality, as well as downside risk. Over the past 20 years, brokerage/asset management firms have produced more than twice the return of the market following a bear market.

"The Charles Schwab brand is one of the most well-known and trusted names in the financial services industry. Its strategy is to be competitively priced, but more importantly to be positioned as the gold standard in client service and integrity.

Continue reading Charles Schwab (SCHW): Value play in 'battered' financials

Charles Schwab (SCHW): Value play in 'battered' financials originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Now eight large brokerage firms have settled with Auction Rate Securities (ARS) investors. This afternoon Bloomberg News reports Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Deutsche Bank settled with state regulators. Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MER) announced another prong of its settlement earlier in the day.

What are the terms of the settlement for the latest two? Bloomberg writes that "Goldman will buy back $1.5 billion of the securities and pay a $22.5 million fine. Deutsche Bank will redeem $1 billion of debt and was fined $15 million." In addition to the rogues gallery of big ARS issuers who have yet to settle, investigators are targeting medium-sized brokers -- Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW), Fidelity Investments and E*Trade Financial Corp. (NYSE: ETFC).

This leaves major ARS issuers lagging behind their peers. Here are three holdouts (with their 2007 municipal ARS issuance in parentheses):

• Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) ($3.7 B)
• RBC Capital Markets ($1.2 B)
• Lehman Brothers (NYSE: LEH) ($1.1 B)

What are they waiting for?

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.

Goldman and Deutsche Bank join Auction Rate Securities settlement bandwagon originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Talk about an interesting day for E*Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC). The broker, a competitor of TD Ameritrade (NASDAQ: AMTD) and Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW), reported Q2 earnings on Tuesday after the market closed. E*Trade saw its stock close up on the day by almost 11% on better-than-average volume ahead of the press release. Then, after hours, the stock was down over 15% as investors digested the data. It was a wild ride indeed, and I'm glad I wasn't on it.

E*Trade saw its total net revenue decrease by 20% to around $532 million. The loss per share came in at 19 cents. According to this Reuters article, Wall Street was hoping the loss would only be 14 cents per share.

E*Trade isn't out of the woods yet, and I think it'll be a while before it fully turns itself around and recovers from the financial crisis it's been suffering. In fact, the release mentioned how the broker lost value on investments in preferred equities of Federal National Mortgage Association (NYSE: FNM) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage (NYSE: FRE) in July and that the liquidation of the investments will impact the third quarter. Yeah, I'm sure shareholders of E*Trade love to hear the names Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac thrown around in the earnings report. They're sure to warm the heart.

At one time, I thought E*Trade was worth entering, and it obviously might have been worth trading ahead of the earnings (if you were quick to get out before the after-hours, that is). Now, however, I'm reticent to put any new money to work in the financial sector. It's going to be a while before the financial malaise finally lifts. Since E*Trade is still losing a lot of money and missing estimates, I see no reason to allocate any investment funds here. The stock has become too speculative, and if you want to speculate, I'm sure you can find safer sectors to place some bets.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

E*Trade tanks after missing estimates originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Will Bush throw a change-up at Yankee Stadium?

Will Bush throw a change-up at Yankee Stadium? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Charles Schwab (SCHW) lifted by higher May trading volume originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: AMTD) reported earnings for its second fiscal quarter yesterday, and they were pretty decent for the most part -- some might have thought that investors were completely shunning the market because of all the volatility going on, but TD Ameritrade's results show that a broker can still make money in such a challenging climate.

Even so, overall revenues declined 3% to $623 million. While transaction-based revenues also declined, it should be noted that average client trades per day did increase 23% to 312,000. That's an important measure when talking about brokers such as TD Ameritrade, or competitors such as E TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) and The Charles Schwab Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHW). Earnings per share really shined, rising 35% to $0.31 per diluted share.

TD Ameritrade is sticking to its earnings guidance of a "midpoint forecast of $1.32." Of course, I'd like to see raised guidance, but a reaffirmation is certainly better than a reduction in guidance. Besides, I have to go back to the challenging climate concern -- if TD is happy to keep the forecast right now, then this is definitely positive. Investors would probably do well to at least investigate the brokers. When the economy snaps back, they should rally higher from these levels. TD Ameritrade, while not right up against a 52-week high, actually isn't that far from it, interestingly enough.

Disclosure: I don't own shares in any of the companies mentioned here; positions can change at any time.

TD Ameritrade's revenues may have declined, but its earnings traded up originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After hitting a one-year low of $17.41 in August, the stock hit a one-year high of $25.72 in December. SCHW opened this morning at $18.73. So far today the stock has hit a low of $18.72 and a high of $19.46. As of 1:45, SCHW is trading at $19.49, up $1.19 (6.5%). The chart for SCHW looks bullish but improving, while S&P gives the stock a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a September bull-put credit spread below the $15 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 16.3% return in just five months as long as SCHW is above $15 at September expiration. Schwab would have to fall by more than 22% before we would start to lose money. Learn more about this type of trade here.

Continue reading Charles Schwab (SCHW) on the move after earnings

Charles Schwab (SCHW) on the move after earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TD AmeriTrade Holding Corp.

Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Option update 11-12-07: TD AmeriTrade and Charles Schwab rally on E*Trade issues originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Veterans' Day holiday.
• Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) to report Q4 earnings. They are holding a conference call at 9am and a business update later at 10:45am.

• Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) to report Q3 earnings; pre-recorded conference call at 7am.
• Home Depot (NYSE: HD) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 9am.
• Fed Reserve Governor Randall Kroszner is the Keynote Speaker at Standard & Poor's Banking Conference in New York at 1pm.

• Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is the Keynote Speaker at Cato Institute Annual Monetary Conference at 9:10am.
• Macy's (NYSE: M) to report Q3 earnings; conference call at 10:30am.

• Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW) to hold business update conference call at 10:30am.
• Nevada District Court: Bayer (NYSE: BAY) vs. Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI) on Patent Infringement Lawsuit over the generic birth control drug YAZ.

• PDUFA date for Bristol Myers Squibb Company's (NYSE: BMY) Abilify.
  
• PDUFA date for Impax Laboratories' (OTC: IPXL) Vadova.

Market highlights for next week: Tyson (TSN), Wal-Mart (WMT) and Home Depot (HD) to report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 09 Nov 2007 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I can picture Sandy Weill, the former chairman of Citigroup (NYSE: C), now. He's probably pacing the floor of his penthouse apartment, wringing his hands, sweating, perhaps yelling into the phone at someone when he gets a chance. He must be all in a lather about Citigroup's drop in share price (down another 5% so far today to $35.91).

I co-wrote a book about Sandy Weill that came out in 2002 and one thing Mike Brewster and I posited is that Weill would like to run Citigroup until he met his maker. That wasn't in the cards, since he had to step down in 2003 after a series of scandals rocked the bank. And calling Weill the King of Capital, as we did in our book (King of Capital: Sandy Weill and the Making of Citigroup), didn't look so smart not too long after publication either.

Now I've been watching Maria Bartiromo on CNBC reporting that Weill does not want to run Citigroup, but will be happy to help out in the search for a new chief executive. Here's my interpretation: Of course he'd love to jump in and run the company again. He just knows the board could never give him the chance.

Continue reading Sandy Weill would love to run Citigroup again -- but there's no chance

Sandy Weill would love to run Citigroup again -- but there's no chance originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Nov 2007 13:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Should you buy TD Ameritrade (AMTD) on the rumors?

Should you buy TD Ameritrade (AMTD) on the rumors? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Aug 2007 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.