Charles Schwab Corporation(SCHW) recently announced its decision to acquire optionsXpress in a friendly all-stock deal, as the company takes aim at the growing foreign exchange market. The move adds to Schwab's arsenal as it competes with firms like E-Trade(ETFC), Ameritrade(AMTD), Fidelity and Bank of America(BAC).

Our $19.74 price estimate for Charles Schwab implies a roughly 10% premium to the stock's market price.

A relief rally recovery is how you would describe Monday. The no-fly zone success of Libya over the weekend and the 'no more bad news' out of Japan were the two major contributors today. The US even announced that it would begin selling off the Treasury's $142 billion mortgage-backed securities portfolio.

Here were the unofficial closing bell levels today:

Dow Jones 12,036.53 +178.01 (1.50%)
S&P 500 1,298.38 +19.18 (1.50%)
Nasdaq 2,692.09 +48.42 (1.83%)

Top Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades

The nice thing about stock options is leverage. This is often magnified when there is a buyout, when there is usually a hefty premium.

Ironically enough, OptionsXpress (OXPS) would have been a nice options play today as the stock price is up about 15%. You see, Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) has agreed to shell out $1 billion for the company.

Analyst Upgrades

• Intel (INTC), ON Semiconductor (ONNN), Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC), Fairchild Semiconductor (FSC), STMicroelectronics (STM) and Altera (ALTR) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Capital One (COF) to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• Dollar Tree (DLTR) to buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Foot Locker (FL) to buy from neutral at Sterne Agee.
• Progressive (PGR) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Flow International (FLOW) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Signature Bank (SBNY) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• HiSoft Technology (HSFT) to buy from neutral at UBS.

Two weeks ago I decided to sell my shares of E*Trade (ETFC) after concluding it did not fit my investment criteria. It was one of my successful picks for 2010 and I made money having sold puts establishing a base price of $13.50. It closed Friday February 25 at $15.89.

I might not have chosen to post about this except for news that Ken Griffin's hedge fund Citadel Investment Group plans to sell much of its stake in E*Trade Financial. The largest shareholder selling out is news. Citadel will still hold valuable warrants, giving it the option of taking a very large position again, but for now there seems to be a change of heart for them as well.

Analyst Upgrades

• Advance Auto Parts (AAP) was upgraded to Perform from Underperform at Oppenheimer.
• Macquarie upgraded Gen-Probe (GPRO) and Beckman Coulter (BEC) to neutral from underperform.
• Tyco (TYC) was upgraded to neutral from reduce at Nomura.
• BofA/Merrill upgraded Cousins Properties (CUZ) to buy from underperform.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Energy Conversion (ENER) to equal weight from underweight.
• Thermo Fisher (TMO) was upgraded to buy from hold at Auriga.

TD Ameritrade (AMTD), a broker whose competitors include Charles Schwab (SCHW) and E*Trade (ETFC), closed Wednesday's session higher by 2%. The final quote came in at $14.93. That's not too far from the 52-week low of $14.53. The twelve-month range is a narrow one, as the 52-week high is $21.30.

Is the stock a trade? An investment? Indeed, you may be thinking that it's time to buy. Some things worry me, however. The one-year chart isn't attractive at all. Well, in one sense it is, because a trader/investor would be buying low at this point.

Option traders appear to be setting up for a bullish move on CA Technologies (CA). Traders plowed into 4,799 new call option contracts -- 13.87 times the average volume -- on the stock on Thursday. And we know that traders were eager to get into this trade because 98% of the trades came in on the "ask" price.

CA Technologies closed Thursday at $18.13. The stock has dropped 7.64% during the past month, but it is currently sitting at support just above $18.

Analyst Upgrades

• CLSA upgraded Capital One (COF) to outperform from underperform based on valuation and an acceleration in loan growth. The firm raised its price target to $43 from $40.
• KeyBanc upgraded Brush Engineered (BW) to buy from hold based on increased confidence in profit momentum in Specialty Engineered Alloys, valuation and value-added revenue unit growth. The firm has a $30 target on the stock.
• Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Heico (HEI) to buy from hold with a $42 target, citing the better-than-expected Q3 results.
• Greenbrier (GBX) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Paychex (PAYX) was upgraded to hold from sell at Deutsche Bank.
• A. Schulman (SHLM) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Longbow.

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.

Analyst Upgrades

• Citigroup upgraded JPMorgan (JPM) to buy from hold on valuation as it finds the risk/reward on shares attractive following yesterday's sell-off. Citi keeps a $48 price target on the stock.
• Oppenheimer upgraded International Game Tech (IGT) to outperform from perform as it believes fundamentals for slot suppliers will improve over the next two years. The firm has a $29 price target on the stock.
• SunTrust believes Perry Ellis (PERY) is now positioned to deliver stronger margins and significant reductions in charge-backs. Shares were upgraded to buy from neutral.
• Nordstrom (JWN) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Tyson Foods (TSN) was upgraded to buy from hold at BB&T.
• Consol Energy (CNX) was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman.

TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (AMTD) didn't experience a spectacular start to its new fiscal year. The broker, which competes with Charles Schwab (SCHW) and E*Trade Financial Corporation (ETFC), was hampered by a decline in trading activities.

According to the press release, revenues increased a modest 2% from the year-ago period. On a sequential basis, the top line actually contracted. Net income decreased 26% to 23 cents per share. Earnings.com indicates an expectation of 26 cents per share. Margins and profitability metrics unfortunately were down across the board.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) shares rose after lower Q4 earnings and revenue beat analysts' expectations.
• Best Buy Inc. (BBY) shares sold off despite better-than-expected Q3 results due to the lower gross margin.
• Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) warned that Q4 earnings would come in lower than the Street view
• Discover Financial Services (DFS) shares were up after it reported better-than-expected Q4 earnings.
• First Solar Inc. (FSLR) offered a solid 2010 outlook but the consensus EPS estimate is high in the range.
• General Mills Inc. (GIS) strong Q2 results included better-than-expected earnings and a rosy outlook.