Written by Jasir Jawaid
Barclays Capital upgraded TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. and Charles Schwab Corp. following the announcement of the companies' $26 billion all-stock deal.
Analyst Jeremy Campbell wrote that the deal makes strategic and financial sense, and it should improve Schwab's "already leading" scale in the registered investment adviser space. He does not expect the transaction to attract "a ton of regulatory scrutiny."
Campbell raised the companies' rating to "equal weight" from "underweight." He raised Schwab's price target to $49 from $35 and TD Ameritrade's to $53 from $33.
Campbell also offered thoughts on E*TRADE Financial Corp., which was considered the likeliest acquisition target as the race to zero commission fees intensified. The Schwab/TD Ameritrade deal removed "two natural buyers" from the table, and the deal could affect E*TRADE's ability to sell. Nontraditional buyers like Goldman Sachs Group Inc. could acquire the company but a non-discount broker buyer would not likely have the same level of synergy potential.
This article was published by S&P Global Market Intelligence on the S&P Capital IQ Pro platform.
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