Traders aren't the only ones back on board with discount brokers.
Goldman Sachs upgraded shares ofCharles Schwab(Nasdaq:SCHW)on Friday, encouraged by the favorable industry implications behind the Fed's move to bump up itsdiscount rate.
That's a serious upgrade, because Goldman Sachstalked downthe price targets of Schwab,E*TRADE(Nasdaq:ETFC),TD AMERITRADE(Nasdaq:AMTD),TradeStation(Nasdaq:TRAD), andoptionsXpress(Nasdaq:OXPS)just two months ago.
The Wall Street loving doesn't end there. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage of E*TRADE on Monday. Sure, the assessment is a ho-hum "market perform" rating. The 12-month price target of $1.70 is just three nickels away. However, it sure beats the naysayers who figured the E*TRADE Baby wouldn't reach toddlerhood just a couple of years ago.
Banking on the discounters became a whole lot easier when trading activity picked up last month. E*TRADE, TD AMERITRADE, Schwab, andInteractive Brokers(Nasdaq:IBKR)experienced huge sequential spikes in daily average revenue trades last month -- up 21%, 22%, 23%, and 24%, respectively.
Even if that activity ultimately came from frustrated longs cashing out during a disappointing January, the seeds are in place for brisk trading activity in the near term. Investors will now have to see whetherrecent cuts in commissionstranslate into shrinking margins for the discounters, or whether they can make up the shortfall through volume.
Now that analysts appear to be warming up to the industry's apparent bottoming-out, it appears the fears of price wars and the impact of lowinterest ratesmay have been overblown.
Trade on, discounters.
In the market for a new discount broker? The way that rates and initial deposits are bouncing around, I can't say that I blame you. Check the sponsored brokercomparison tablein the Discount Broker Center to see if you can find the bargain-minded brokerage that's right for you.
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