E*Trade Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:
ETFC)
imploded today after the company warned of worse-than-expected earnings and a
Citigroup (NYSE:
C) analyst said that the company might have to file for bankruptcy protection.
Shares of the company, which has cut earnings forecasts four times this year, plunged to levels not seen since 2003. E*Trade, which lost $58.5 million, or 14 cents a share, in the period ending September 30, expects 2007 profit of between 75 cents and 90 cents, a range big enough to drive a tractor-trailer through. Shares of the New York-based company have plunged 53%.
In a note to clients, analyst Prashant Bhatia said that poor management has "put the viability of the franchise at risk" and that "bankruptcy risk cannot be ruled out," according to
Bloomberg News. He cut his rating on the stock to "sell" from "neutral."
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