Investment Banking & Brokerage

Deutsche Bank made a number of updates in a research report published today. NASDAQ OMX (NASDAQ: NDAQ) had its rating reiterated at Hold. At the same time, however, its price target was lowered from $30 to $27. On Thursday, NASDAQ lost 2.59% of its value to close the day at $23.35. CBOE Holdings...

LONG: Agilysis (AGYS) LONG: BGC Partners (BGCP)   Read more...

Merriman Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MERR), today announced that it has appointed Charles Almond to its independent advisory board. Almond is the former Chairman and CEO of BondDesk Group, LLC and BondExchange, LLC, both of which he founded. BondDesk Group, LLC was sold in August 2006 to a private...

Goldman Sachs is out with its report today on Raymond James Financial (NYSE: RJF), lowering its EPS estimates. In a note to clients, Goldman Sachs writes, "We lower our FY3Q11/FY2011 estimates to $0.56/2.47 from $0.59/2.50, but we retain our FY2012/FY2013 estimates at $3.10/3.75 as business trends...

According to Citi, Lazard (NYSE: LAZ) Hold rating is reiterated. Citi said that, given slowing announced M&A volumes, macro weakness, and lower global equity markets, we trim our LAZ ests for 2011 by $0.25 to $2.25 (vs cons of $2.47), 2012 by $0.35 to $2.75 (vs cons of $3.07) and 2013 by $0.45...

Citigroup has lowered the price target on Lazard (NYSE: LAZ) from $47 to $42 and maintains its Hold rating.

WHISTLING PAST THE GRAVEYARD This week has already been very interesting.  We've had the confidence vote for Greece, which means that we'll have more Greek default discussions and posts in the near future.  We also had the FOMC meeting and press conference today where Ben Bernanke seemed much less...

The markets are holding on the flat line as they await the Federal Reserve FOMC policy statement and the press conference that will follow later today. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY) is trading at $129.66, +0.21 (+0.16%). After a monster rally yesterday, the markets are waiting to hear if...

For more information on gold, including how to buy and sell gold, as well as reasons why gold prices are going higher, and why you need to own gold today, take a look at further reading from Kevin McElroy, the Resource Prospector below:  Dennis...

(TheStreet ) -- Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) has rung the bell on a heavyweight battle against Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and its message couldn't be clearer: Quit messing with my aluminum price. The mega soft drink company has a big beef with Goldman, and it is letting Goldman know about it. As reported in...

Goldman Sachs is out with its report today on Jefferies (NYSE: JEF), lowering its EPS estimates. In a note to clients, Goldman Sachs writes, "We lower our FY2011-FY2013 EPS estimates for Jefferies to $1.35/$1.65/$1.90 from $1.55/$1.75/$2.00 following weaker than expected F2Q11 results. For 2QFY11...

Oppenheimer & Co. has a Perform rating on shares of Jefferies Group (NYSE: JEF) after it reported earnings. In a note to clients, Oppenheimer writes, "Jefferies reported results that were broadly in line with our expectations albeit on the weaker side. Trading revenue was weaker but investment...

Shares of Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACOR) are higher on the session by 2.01%, currently trading at $32.00. The stock has been moving largely higher over the past three months and is currently trading above the 200-day moving average. Options traders are buying calls on the name today....

By Todd Harrison I would like to start today's vibe by making a statement: I want to be bullish in here. I will follow with an old school axiom: Hope is not a viable investment vehicle. We've dutifully weighed both sides of the market ride, and a few weeks ago offered that The Critter Compass...

Shares of Jefferies Group Inc (NYSE: JEF) fell about 1.3% after the company reported a 3.8% drop in its fiscal second-quarter profit on Tuesday. Jefferies reported its quarterly profit at $80.6 million, or $0.36 per share, down from $83.8 million, or $0.41 per share, in the year-earlier period....