3SOF

Profile:  


E*TRADE Financial Corporation
135 East 57th Street
New York, NY 10022
United States - Map
Phone: 646-521-4300
Fax: 212-826-2803
Web Site: http://www.etrade.com

DETAILS  
Index Membership: S&P 500
S&P 1500 Super Comp
Sector: Financial
Industry: Investment Brokerage - National
Full Time Employees: 4,126


BUSINESS SUMMARY  
E*TRADE Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, offers financial solutions to retail and institutional customers worldwide. It provides retail investments and trading, which include automated order placement, and execution of market and limit equity, futures, options, exchange-traded funds, mutual funds, and bond orders, as well as offers quick transfer, wireless account access, extended hours trading, quotes, and research and advanced planning tools. The company also offers interest-earning checking, money market, savings, sweep deposit, and certificates of deposit products, as well as provides access to deposit account balances and transactions. In addition, it offers mortgage, home equity, and margin and credit card products; real estate loans; and various consumer loans, including recreational vehicle, marine, commercial, automobile, and credit card loans. The company provides advisory and asset management services to retail clients. E*TRADE Financial primarily provides services through its Web site at www.etrade.com. The company also offers services through its network of customer service representatives, relationship managers, and investment advisors. It provides branded retail Web sites in the United States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. E*TRADE Financial was founded in 1982 and is based in New York, New York.

I do think ETFC is set to make a rebound......


Pre-Market mover....
E*TRADE FINL CORP (NasdaqGS:ETFC)   

Pre-Market: Last Price $16.82  +$1.25 or (+8.03%) as of 8:56AM ET on 08/22/07

Here is yesterday's closing chart.......

Lets call it "Bottom fishing".
Something I do like to tinker with !  ;) ;D
Ready for a bounce?
I believe the sell off was way over done and Etrade is bouncing. Coming off of 14% RSI a couple of days ago. P/E under 12 - lots of value here plus talks of merger with Ameritrade (AMTD).

Should benefit from increased market volatility.
Stop $16.05
Target $22.00
All JMHO of course...do your own DD.... ;)

ETFC E*TRADE better positioned to ride out liquidity storm.
Update- Friedman Billings says that ETFC reported the best performance in retail trading activity of the group thus far for July. While the company is certain to face higher credit losses, firm believes those losses will be manageable. With its bank balance sheet, the company is better positioned to ride out the storm with access to liquidity from various sources, including deposits, F.H.L.B borrowings, and prepayments. Since firm feels very strongly that credit and liquidity will be manageable, coupled with deep value interest that recently has started circling, possibly causing rotation in the shareholder base, they feel the inflection point in nearing.

Well, I decided to nibble a little bit at this today.  I'm in at 13.75.  There is a lot of rumor talk about a merger.  It's still a little bottom fishing, but after they report earnings I think all the bad news will be behind us.  The mortgage information they posted was still a bit scarey, but there plans seem sufficient.  Hopefully there restatement of earnings is factored in now.  If not I'll get some more when it drops some more.  Any merger news should take care of that though.  Yahoo boards are saying Schwab is in the merger discussion.

My guess is they lowered the earnings estimates so that they can beat expectations next quarter. 

I've used them as my bank/investments for quite awhile and have no real complaints. 

Anybody else in?

Well, just my luck.  Up at the end of the week, down on the next week.  Hope this stabalizes soon. Not looking pretty right now.  Glad I only nibbled. 

Ouch ... some of the news is actually good, but I doubt the street will take it that way. 

The good:  Record Darts, 54mill stock buyback? didn't expect that, ate all of the bad mortgage stuff this quarter

The bad:  Reforecasted numbers down, took a loss on the quarter. 

Not things wall street likes to hear.   Curious what they say in the CC.  If they don't sing a pretty tune it'll be down tomorrow.  Arghh, I always buy at the wrong times. 

  E-Trade Posts 3Q Loss on Mortgage Crisis
Wednesday October 17, 4:07 pm ET
By Joe Bel Bruno, AP Business Writer 
E-Trade Posts Third-Quarter Loss After Writing Down $200 Million From Mortgage Portfolio


NEW YORK (AP) -- E-Trade Financial Corp. on Wednesday reported a loss after writing down nearly $200 million worth of mortgage-backed securities squeezed during the summer's credit crisis.
The company also lowered its outlook for 2007 to well below Wall Street expectations, on the fear credit markets could get weaker than they already are.

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The discount brokerage posted a loss of $58.4 million, or 14 cents per share, compared to a profit of $153.2 million, or 35 cents per share, a year earlier. Total revenue fell to $321.2 million from $581.7 million last year. The total net revenue figure for the most recent quarter included the $197 million in writedowns.

Results missed Wall Street projections for a profit of 10 cents per share on $521.1 million of revenue, according to analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

E-Trade, one of the nation's largest online brokerages, had expected it would sell the riskiest portions of its mortgage-related portfolio in two stages. However, like others squeezed as people defaulted on home loans at a skyrocketing rate, E-Trade decided to use the third quarter to get rid of those securities.

"We wanted to get it behind us," said E-Trade President and Chief Operating Officer Jarrett Lilien in an interview.

Originally, E-Trade told analysts that it intended to sell $200 million in two parts -- half this year and the balance in 2008. But, the mortgage crisis caused a global aversion for risk that led the credit markets to freeze up.

Lilien believes the move will shore up the company's financial position and allow it to focus on its expanding retail business.

However, the company lowered 2007 guidance because of "the possibility of further credit deterioration." It now expects a profit between 75 cents to 90 cents per share -- lower than the $1.11 expected by Wall Street.

E-Trade uses some $40 billion of customer cash from its bank and brokerage to make investments, including in asset-backed securities and complex instruments known as collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs.

Despite taking a hit from its mortgage investments, E-Trade's retail brokerage fared well during the third quarter -- with revenue up 21 percent to a record $474 million. Wall Street's intense volatility and high volume during the period played a large role in that; E-Trade makes its commissions regardless of whether stocks go higher or lower.

The New York-based financial company said it reached 194,000 daily average revenue trades during the quarter, up 44 percent year-over-year. Client assets climbed to $218 billion from $212.8 billion a year earlier.

As for about continued speculation that E-Trade might be in talks with rival TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., Lilien said his company remains open to discussions that would enhance shareholder value. The combined company would have a market value of about $16.5 billion -- which would still be less than bigger rival Charles Schwab Corp.'s $28.05 billion.

"If a good deal happens to cross our desk, we'd act on it -- it is our job," he said. "But, we're keeping our perspective and focus on continuing to grow and do what's right for our customers."

Quote from: Trumpitall on September 25, 2007, 05:44:48 PM
Well, just my luck.  Up at the end of the week, down on the next week.  Hope this stabalizes soon. Not looking pretty right now.  Glad I only nibbled. 

I'm glad you only nibbled too !
With a little hope, maybe she can put a double bottom (reversal) in @ $11.80
Waaaaay overdone !
ETFC one of the stronger brokers and with banking offers full service.
They should lower commissions and I'll trade there more often... ;D
Cramer mention that a NY Times article was all wrong in saying that the mortgage arm of etrade is walking on eggs. The rot in the real estate business will be eliminated and paid for by who knows who , but not these guys. buy the dips on this.


Technicals
Last Price Quote is:
-6.73%below 13-day MA
-16.19%below 50-day MA
RS Rating: 3 

Fundamentals
Key Data:
Market Cap (M): $5,824.90 
P/E Ratio: 9.18 
PEG Ratio: 1.13 
Next Earnings: 01/17/2008
Last Analyst Rating: Neutral

Not worth the risk.

I'd move my account while they have the capitalisation and the cash.

CITI wants the business. Maybe a few more brokers to follow.

what is happening with my broker ?


E*Trade October DARTs rose, shares lower after Friday's write-down announcement
Monday , November 12, 2007 09:58ET

By Staff Reporter

NEW YORK, Nov 12, 2007 (Thomson Financial via COMTEX) -- E*Trade Financial Corp. Monday said its daily total average revenue trades, or DARTs, in October rose 22.9% sequentially to 227,344.

Total retail client assets rose 4% sequentially to $226.7 billion in October.

Shares of the New York-based investment and trading company fell 28% to $6.15 in premarket trading on Monday. After the closing bell Friday, the company said deterioration in the fair value of its $3 billion asset-backed securities portfolio "will likely cause write-downs that exceed the previous expectations." The company said its previously-announced earnings outlooks were no longer reliable.

In a note to clients, analysts at Citigroup downgraded the company to sell from hold, saying that because of the company's announcement, the risk of bankruptcy "cannot be ruled out." The firm cut the company's price target to $7.50 from $13 and said it expects E*Trade to report a loss in 2007 of 32 cents a share. Citigroup had previously seen earnings of 26 cents a share. Ryan Vlastelica rv/jw

&

ETFC: Sandler O'Neill Cuts to Hold from Buy; Sets Tgt @ $9
Monday , November 12, 2007 11:37ET
Issuer: E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NasdaqNM: ETFC)
Analyst Firm:  Sandler O'Neill & Partners, LP
Ratings Action: DOWNGRADE
Current Rating: Hold (from Buy)
Target Price Action: INITIATE
Target Price: $9.00

&

ETFC: Smith Barney Cuts to Sell from Hold; Cuts Tgt to $7.5 vs $13; Analyst Notes
Monday , November 12, 2007 07:44ET
Issuer: E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NasdaqNM: ETFC)
Analyst Firm:  Smith Barney
Ratings Action: DOWNGRADE
Current Rating: Sell (from Hold)
Target Price Action: DECREASE
Target Price: $7.50 (-42.31% from $13.00)
Analyst Comments: The firm downgraded ETFC believing continued negative news flow about charges, the SEC inquiry, and continued deterioration in the company's financial condition increase the likelihood of significant client attrition. They estimate that trying to liquidate ETFC's loan and ABS portfolio would result in over $5b of losses and they feel bankruptcy risk can not be ruled out.

&

ETFC: Friedman Cuts to Mkt Perform from Outperform; Cuts Tgt to $12 vs $17; Analyst Notes
Monday , November 12, 2007 15:11ET
Issuer: E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NasdaqNM: ETFC)
Analyst Firm:  Friedman Billings Ramsey Group Inc.
Ratings Action: DOWNGRADE
Current Rating: Mkt Perform (from Outperform)
Target Price Action: DECREASE
Target Price: $12.00 (-29.41% from $17.00)
Analyst Comments: According to the firm, ETFC's suspension of 4Q07 earnings guidance related to its ABS exposure completely masked the strong brokerage results posted in October. The balance sheet issues are not new, but the continued deterioration, lack of clarity, and concerns of the company's capital levels are creating "run on the bank" fears. Although they see significant upside to the intrinsic value of the standalone broker, the value cannot be realized until ETFC sheds its troubled assets. Such a sale requires taking substantial losses and an infusion of capital before the value of the broker can be realized. Absent such as transaction, the risk is that a loss of customer funding becomes self-fulfilling from a customer standpoint. The firm believes ETFC is unlikely to receive anything close to its intrinsic value until putting behind its portfolio issues.

Pre-Market.......

E*TRADE FINL CORP (NasdaqGS:ETFC)   

Pre-Market: @  $3.95  +0.40 or  +(11.27%) as of 8:31AM ET on 11/13/07

Volume @ 2,358,787

fyi:
An E*Trade Rescue Plan?
The online broker may be looking for a way to restore the confidence of investors and customers after taking big hits from the credit crisis

by Ben Steverman

Wall Street did an about-face on E*Trade Financial (ETFC) a day after an analyst's use of the scary "B" word — bankruptcy — terrified investors. The stock bounced back 41% on Nov. 14 after falling almost 59% the previous day.

Investors likely had two reasons for buying: They may be looking for bargains, deciding the risk of a Chapter 11 filing by the company is remote. Or they may be hoping for a wealthy buyer or investor to rescue E*Trade from its crisis.

The stock has taken a beating ever since the firm admitted late Nov. 9 that it can't stick by previous profit forecasts. It said it expects more credit downgrades and an unknown amount of losses from risky debt in future quarters.

The online bank and brokerage's balance sheet has been tainted by exposure to subprime loans and other mortgage-backed debt. Trading at $5 per share, the stock is still down 41% from before the recent announcement. The stock was trading above $25 as recently as June.

The company's announcement prompted Citigroup (C) analyst Prashant Bhatia to warn that E*Trade faces the threat of bankruptcy — a probability he placed at 15%. A classic "run on the bank," when worried customers all rush to pull their money out at the same time, could force E*Trade to sell off its portfolio and sustain big losses, Bhatia said.

The company hit back, saying through a spokeswoman that Bhatia's comments were irresponsible. "E*Trade is well capitalized by regulatory standard and is capable of adapting to shifting market trends," the spokeswoman said.

But big worries remain about E*Trade. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded E*Trade's credit rating on Nov. 13. "We are concerned that future liquidity could be strained and funding at the bank could weaken," S&P said in a statement. (S&P, like BusinessWeek, is a unit of the McGraw-Hill Companies.)

The biggest concern? That customers could bleed away from E*Trade as its financial crisis continues. Depositors may be worried about their accounts in the event of bankruptcy at E*Trade. The company's bank holds $36 billion in customer deposits. Though $29 billion of that amount is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, about $7 billion of would be uninsured as it is held in accounts that exceed the FDIC coverage limit of $100,000, analysts estimate.

A loss of customers would tarnish the only recent good news for E*Trade: While its balance sheet is a mess, its business — as an online bank and broker — is doing well. October activity figures released Nov. 12 confirmed this, with total client assets up 4% and record trading volume.

The more worries, however overblown, about E*Trade's survival, the worse for its core business, says Morningstar (MORN) analyst Patrick O'Shaughnessy. "E*Trade would like nothing more than it's name to be absent from the news headlines," he says.

Analysts say E*Trade needs to find a way to stop the bleeding.

Matt Snowling, an analyst at Friedman, Billings, Ramsey (FBR), proposes one way for the company to do this: Sell its entire portfolio of troubled assets to eliminate — once and for all time — its exposure to risky debt. "Although we see significant upside to the intrinsic value of the standalone broker, the value cannot be realized until E*Trade sheds its troubled assets," Snowling wrote.

The problem with this plan is it is very expensive. Selling its $12.4 billion portfolio could result in a $1.9 billion loss. That would bring E*Trade below required capital levels, so it would need another investor to inject about $800 million in capital into the company, Snowling estimates.

That could be an attractive investment, however, because of the value of E*Trade's core brokerage business.

E*Trade could also be a buyout candidate, though any acquirer wouldn't necessarily know what kind of toxic debt is hiding on its balance sheet. A buyout would be a "gamble," O'Shaughnessy says. Acquirers "wouldn't be sure what they're getting until a year or two down the road."

Bill Doyle, vice president of Forrester Research, says E*Trade would be "terrifically attractive" absent its balance sheet issues. Its online brokerage rivals would love to snap up E*Trade's affluent clients. Competition was fierce to buy TD Waterhouse; Ameritrade (AMTD) eventually bought the online broker for $2.9 billion in 2006. Also, Doyle says, E*Trade's technology and employees would be appealing to a large financial institution "playing catch up in the online space."

Investors will be watching closely to make sure E*Trade's customers aren't fleeing. Though some of E*Trade's rivals claimed on Nov. 14 they were winning away some of its customers, it's hard to know the extent of the damage. Its November activity figures won't arrive for another month.

But without a rescue plan, E*Trade is stuck in a difficult spot, waiting helplessly as more credit losses and downgrades eat away at its balance sheet. Both investors and customers may not stand for that kind of prolonged uncertainty.

Steverman is a reporter for BusinessWeek's Investing channel.

Man what a drop on this stock.  Really glad I only nibbled.  As long as they don't go bankrupt (which I think the risk is low) this is probably a value buy here.  Only downside is that I don't see much in the way of positive news to pump the price up.  Doesn't sound like next quarter is going to be too good either.  Anyone else thinking of getting in here? 


E*Trade Financial slid on Monday in spite of the buyout buzz surrounding the online broker.

The firm's shares plunged 13.4%, or 73 cents, to $4.71, despite heightened takeover talk. Although best-known from its discount brokerage, E*Trade Financial (nasdaq: etfc - news - people ) also has a mortgage division, which got caught up in the housing-related credit crisis.

On Friday, TD Ameritrade Holdings (nasdaq: AMTD - news - people ) Chief Executive Officer Joseph Moglia told CNBC, that he would be interested in E*Trade's retail brokerage business. "The retail business is a good solid franchise, and it's one we're interested in," Moglia said, according to the Associated Press. "It's a complex situation, and it only works if it works out for both their shareholders and our shareholders as well." Many analysts believe E*Trade will be bought out before it becomes bankrupt.

It has been a difficult two weeks for E*Trade Financial (nasdaq: ETFC - news - people ).

Last week, the firm fended off bankruptcy rumors, after Citi Investment Research analyst Prashant Bhatia said it faced a 15% chance of insolvency. The stock plunged roughly 58.7% on Nov. 12, to $3.55 from $8.59. However, E*Trade has pared back its losses, thanks to reassuring comments from analysts and the company. Nevertheless, it is still far from a rebound--the stock is still down 80% for the year-to-date.

Investors and customers have become increasingly concerned about E*Trade's financial health. In September, the company shuttered its embattled wholesale mortgage business. Earlier this month, the company said it will experience larger-than-expected writedowns in its $3.0 billion asset-backed securities portfolio. According to Citi analyst Bhatia, these troubling data points could cause high-end clients to flee their accounts. Bhatia says a mass exodus could trigger bankruptcy. (See: "E*Trade Going Out Of Business." )

E*Trade has feverishly battled the Chapter 11 rumors. Last week, the company said, "the management team is focused on serving our customers as we combat the market reaction to the irresponsible comments included in the recent Citigroup analyst report that has the potential to unnecessarily damage customers, shareholders and employees" It added: "We take exception to the sensationalism based on unfounded speculation." Despite ongoing weakness in the credit markets, the firm also said it is still enlarging its retail base. (See: "E*Trade Heats Up." )

Perhaps sensing that its announcement was insufficient, the firm went on the offensive again--and again. On Wednesday, during an interview with CNBC, Chief Executive Officer Mitch Caplan said the firm was not headed to bankruptcy. Also, last week, the company took out a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal to confirm its financial health.

E*Trade's stock slide came amid a general decline in the financial sector on Monday as credit concerns weighed on Wall Street. Putting pressure on the industry, Goldman Sachs analyst William Tanona downgraded Citigroup (nyse: C - news - people ) to "sell" from "neutral" and knocked down the price targets of many financial stocks, including Bear Stearns (nyse: BSC - news - people ), Lehman Brothers (nyse: LEH - news - people ), Morgan Stanley (nyse: MS - news - people ), JPMorgan Chase (nyse: JPM - news - people ), and E*Trade. He dropped his price target on E*Trade to $6 from $15.

Being very heavily traded the stock finished near hod, which means it might have a shot to gap next session.

Quote from: SeeingGreen on November 21, 2007, 08:33:08 PM
Being very heavily traded the stock finished near hod, which means it might have a shot to gap next session.

yeah i bought yesterday....and you? lets see what happens buyout rumor....

Be careful with ETFC.  It could go either way in a blink of an eye.  I can't figure it out myself.

Quote from: stock.gold on November 24, 2007, 10:43:12 PM
Be careful with ETFC.  It could go either way in a blink of an eye.  I can't figure it out myself.

Just wanted to give my opinoin on ETFC. What I use to determine buy and sell alerts shows this stock should go up soon. Buy alert was given on it Friday but it made a gap also. what I see,, it has to make a move up because it willn't go down much further without some kind of move up which will allow it to go further down. Volume is starting to come back in,,that has to be good
Also I use 20 MA for the bounce to go back down if it does. Right now 20 MA is 7.56 but this changes on a daily basis which wouldn't be a bad trade since it ended @5.33.
This is" just my opinoin"
I have no position

I have been a long time E Trade client and I can tell you from experience why they are losing loyal customers.

Greed.

I had well over 400 trades last year and had 100 plus trades this year when E Trade decided it would be a good business move for them to withhold my cash transfers so they could make a couple dollars interest off it. I have always been able to transfer money and trade immediately which translated into more commissions for E Trade. This is not good enough for them, they are alienating good customers by pressuring them to  use their banking service against their will.

I have lived up to my brokerage agreement for years and have paid thousands in commissions.

E Trade has lost my trust and a substantial portion of my business, they will need to backtrack and then some to regain my trust.

Screw E Trade- At one time I recommended them and the stock, no more!

I don't think I am alone.

Quote from: boatguy on November 25, 2007, 07:14:24 PM
I have been a long time E Trade client and I can tell you from experience why they are losing loyal customers.

Greed.

I had well over 400 trades last year and had 100 plus trades this year when E Trade decided it would be a good business move for them to withhold my cash transfers so they could make a couple dollars interest off it. I have always been able to transfer money and trade immediately which translated into more commissions for E Trade. This is not good enough for them, they are alienating good customers by pressuring them to  use their banking service against their will.

I have lived up to my brokerage agreement for years and have paid thousands in commissions.

E Trade has lost my trust and a substantial portion of my business, they will need to backtrack and then some to regain my trust.

Screw E Trade- At one time I recommended them and the stock, no more!

I don't think I am alone.

Hi boatguy
I'm not recommending ETFC. I just look at a stock by the signals it might be giving as a potential trade and possibly make some money off it.
I'm a position,,swing trader not long term.
Don't blame you for hard feelings towards this company and would feel the same way if it was me.

This stock is crazy.  It seems to have turn around prospects though with the recent citadel deal and this wsj article I saw.   Through all this mess their accounts have increase?   Trades are up?   They did lose 7 billion in accounts though.  This new BofA downgrade might be an over-reaction.  Maybe the treasury secretary's announcment soon will be the catalyst. 

I'm contemplating adding more today.  But don't go off what I say, I've had some terrible entry points lately.    :-[

E*Trade Boosts Some Rates
Move to Lure Deposits Follows Capital Injection
By JANE J. KIM
December 1, 2007; Page B2

E*Trade Financial Corp., eager to further stabilize its businesses after receiving a capital injection from outside investors, bumped up rates on several of its banking products in an effort to attract more consumer deposits.

The increase of as much as half a percentage point on E*Trade Financial's savings account and certificates of deposit comes even as many other lenders have been lowering rates on consumer deposits, in line with an overall decline in short-term market rates. E*Trade is known mainly for its discount-brokerage business. But the company also runs a federal savings and loan, whose ventures into mortgage securities have taken a steep toll on E*Trade. On Thursday, the firm received a $2.55 billion cash infusion from Citadel Investment Group, the Chicago hedge fund, to shore up its capital position.

E*Trade's move is similar to that of some other financial firms that have been facing a credit crunch and have sought to restore consumer confidence. Banking units of mortgage lenders Countrywide Financial Corp. and IndyMac Bancorp Inc. also recently boosted rates in an effort to attract more customer deposits. Since Countrywide raised rates in August, each month since then has been its best month for new deposit growth, said Pierre Habis, managing director at Countrywide Bank.

E*Trade this week raised the yield on its Complete Savings Account to 5.05% from 4.70%. It also increased the yields on its short-term CDs. The firm's six-month CD, for example, is now yielding 5.25%, up from 4.75%.

For savers, E*Trade's move presents an opportunity to take advantage of rates that are among the highest available on short-term deposit accounts and are several percentage points above national averages. Average rates on six-month, one-year and five-year CDs are 3.31%, 3.51% and 3.87%, respectively, according to Bankrate.com.

"Basically, short-term [interbank] rates were up, and that's something we look at," says Jarrett Lilien, E*Trade's acting chief executive. In addition, "it was a great opportunity to give a thank you to our loyal customers in the face of a difficult time like the last couple of weeks," he says.

In recent months, the Federal Reserve has trimmed short-term rates by a total of three-quarters of a percentage point, and many market watchers predict another rate cut in December. Treasury yields also have dropped steeply. As a result, rates on many deposit products have followed suit. Last month, for example, Citigroup Inc.'s Citibank dropped the yield on its e-Savings account to 4% from 4.25% while also dropping the yield on its Ultimate Money Market account to 4.5% from 5%.

Still, consumers have been spared much of the decline in market rates, partly because of the continued tightness in credit markets and banks' eagerness to attract consumers' deposits. Average yields on money-market mutual funds have dropped to 4.57% from 5.06% in mid-September, says Peter Crane of Crane Data LLC. By contrast, with a federal-funds rate at 4.50%, average yields on money funds would typically be around 4.25%, he says.


Despite the above-average rates offered by E*Trade and some other lenders' banking arms, some customers may still have concerns about the companies' financial health. Concerns over E*Trade's asset-backed-securities portfolio, for example, helped prompt a steep slump in the company's stock.

Savers wanting a guarantee can make sure to keep their deposits under the limits insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which covers deposits for as much as $100,000 per depositor, per institution. Those who want to insure more than that can set up other types of accounts -- such as individual retirement accounts, joint accounts or revocable trust accounts -- or spread out their deposits across different banks.

E*Trade's Mr. Lilien says that, on a month-to-date basis through Nov. 27, customers removed some $7 billion of cash from the firm -- across the bank and brokerage businesses. Despite the cash outflows, margin balances and trades were higher, he says, and the company still saw 70,000 new accounts opened during the month.

And while the company saw some customers move some of their cash to other firms "just so they felt safer," they have started to move their money back, he says. "Even before [the Citadel announcement], we had been able to contact 65% of people who had moved assets in cash, and we had already had 10% of those contacted move their cash and assets back," says Mr. Lilien.

Lots of volume over the last couple of weeks.

Looks to be pretty over sold, imo.

Opinions?


Jody

Quote from: 422fwhp on December 07, 2007, 10:43:59 AM
Lots of volume over the last couple of weeks.

Looks to be pretty over sold, imo.

Opinions?


Jody

If I was to try and play this stock I would play the sideway channel it's been trading in. JMO

E*Trade Fails to Sway the Skeptics
The troubled online broker offered some rare good news Jan. 9, but analysts and investors are looking for more details on the company's health
by Ben Steverman

At first glance, a Jan. 9 report from troubled online broker E*Trade Financial (ETFC) looked like good news. The upbeat press release came one day after E*Trade stock hit an 11-year low, with the firm saying its turnaround plan was finding "early success."

The stock opened 15.6% higher on Jan. 9, but then the rally fizzled. Investors and analysts, trained by the credit crisis to be suspicious, started worrying they were only getting half the story. Key questions about E*Trade's future remained unanswered. Among the news released by E*Trade: It sold off $3 billion in asset-backed securities over the past month and lost less than $5 million on the transactions. That compares well with the sale of $3 billion of more toxic debt in November. The online bank and broker, which has seen its balance sheet demolished by the credit crisis, netted just $800 million from that transaction — in effect losing $2.2 billion.
After worries about its financial situation surfaced last fall, the firm lost customers, who pulled billions of dollars out of E*Trade accounts. On Jan. 9, E*Trade implied the bleeding had stopped. Customers opened 87,000 new accounts in December, the firm says. Total client assets fell modestly, from $192 billion on Nov. 29 to $190 billion at the end of the year, but cash held steady at $33 billion.

"We have taken important steps in the execution of our turnaround plan by reducing balance sheet-related risk and maintaining strong bank capital levels," E*Trade's acting chief executive and president R. Jarrett Lilien said in a statement.

E*Trade is providing "partial information," says Standard & Poor's equity analyst Jason Willey. "There are just not enough details." (S&P, like BusinessWeek, is a unit of the McGraw-Hill Companies.)

For example, E*Trade said it signed up 87,000 new accounts in December, but didn't say how many accounts had been closed. And several analysts said they were worried E*Trade is offering expensive incentives to attract those clients' assets. Bank of America (BAC) analyst Michael Hecht wondered how much the firm is paying in advertising, promotion, high-interest rates on deposits and free trading and bonus offers. Until recently, E*Trade was a leader among online brokers, attracting thousands of new clients and posting record trading volume. But worries about toxic debt, including subprime mortgages, on E*Trade's balance sheet shook clients' confidence. While most of the worst debt has been unloaded, investors are still closely watching the $12 billion in home equity loans that E*Trade owns. As home prices around the country fall, the quality of these loans is in question. E*Trade said its home equity balance had fallen a bit, from $12.7 billion to $12 billion in the past quarter, a sign borrowers are paying off their debts, but provided no other information on credit quality.
E*Trade has enough strength to survive financially, says Morningstar (MORN) analyst Jaime Peters. A bailout from Citadel Investment Group may have been expensive — investors had to give up 18% of the company to Citadel — but it put E*Trade's risky balance sheet on firmer footing. However, Peters adds, "The question is: Are customers going to lose confidence in them?"

E*Trade's web- and investment-savvy customers are aware of E*Trade's plight, and are already considering moving their money elsewhere, she says. And E*Trade's rivals are doing whatever they can to win them away. A large-scale defection would be disastrous. As Peters wrote recently, "Keeping client assets is the number-one priority for the company, because without clients, E*Trade has no business."

E*Trade made other announcements Jan. 9, including the decision to close its small institutional trading business and lay off 30 employees.

But the big focus of investors will be Jan. 24, when E*Trade releases its full quarter results. Then, investors will get key information they were looking for on Jan. 9: How many customers have really left E*Trade? How expensive are the incentives being used to keep and attract client money? How is the quality of the home equity portfolio holding up?

By the early afternoon on Jan. 9, E*Trade's stock had given up the day's gains, putting the stock briefly below its 11-year low again. In the late afternoon, as the rest of the market rallied, E*Trade did, too. It ended the day up 15 cents, or 6.7%, to $2.40 per share. Since the beginning of the year, the stock is still down 32%. Since July, it's off almost 90%.

The Jan. 9 release might have stopped E*Trade's fortunes from sliding even further, but it looks like the company will have to provide a second helping of positive news later in the month to ease the market's worries.

ETFC - Volume Alert.......

52wk Range: 0.59 - 4.50
Volume: 45,090,201
Avg Vol (3m): 12,671,200

Technicals
Last Price Quote is:
41.34%above 13-day MA
60.11%above 50-day MA
RS Rating: 92 

Fundamentals
Key Data:
Market Cap (M): $772.26 
P/E Ratio: 2.79 
PEG Ratio: N/A 
Next Earnings: 04/28/2009
Last Analyst Rating: Mkt Perform