Investment Banking & Brokerage

KBW is out with its report today on Raymond James Financial (NYSE: RJF), maintaining Market Perform after RJF's analyst day on Wednesday. In a note to clients, KBW writes, "RJF hosted an investor and analyst day on Wednesday at its headquarters in St. Petersburg. The presentations were led by the...

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) says buy Joy Global (NASDAQ: JOYG) June $95 calls before earnings. Goldman suggests Joy Global options on earnings, M&A potential.

According to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Greenhill & Co (NYSE: GHL) 2011 forecast is unchanged. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said that despite 1Q11 EPS beat, it is leaving its 2011 forecast unchanged at $1.15 as it has tempered its quarterly est. upon further review and pipeline visibility. “...

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) says to Buy Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) June $350 straddles ahead of the June 6th developers conference. Goldman says the trade is a bet on volatility.

My wife and I just had a baby boy on May 8, so I'll be taking a short break from the Resource Prospector. I've asked Andy Crowder, a seasoned technical analyst and options trader to fill in while I'm away. He has a very unique view on the commodity markets and I'll...

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT%) snubbed investment banks for its largest deal ever, saving an estimated $25 million to $30 million by not using an adviser on the $8.5 billion takeover of Internet phone service Skype. Skype's advisers, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and JPMorgan (JPM: 45.26, +0.30, +0.67%),...

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (AMTD), a provider of securities brokerage services and technology-based financial services to retail investors and traders, said its daily client trades fell 6% last month from a year earlier and declined 3% from March. TD Ameritrade averaged 402,000 trades last month...

TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: AMTD) today announced Company metrics for April 2011. Monthly activities included: An average of 402,000 client trades per day in April 2011, down 6 percent from April 2010 and down 3 percent from March 2011. Approximately $423 billion in total client...

Lazard Capital downgraded shares of Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc. (SVNT) from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) downgraded shares of Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating as well. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares...

Bank of America is lowering its price target from $49 to $46 on Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF) after a 1Q miss. In the report, Bank of America writes, “SF's IB effort continues to gain traction with 1Q still being one of its best quarters ever, and management comments suggest continued progress...

In a recent report, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has lowered the EPS estimates on Stifel Financial (NYSE: SF) but maintains a Market Perform rating on the company. A $49.00 price target remains on SF. In the report, KBW said, "Large miss to expectations for 1Q11 despite 2nd best quarterly results...

Goldman Sachs has a Buy rating and a $52 price target on shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF) after the company reported earnings. In a note to investors, Goldman Sachs writes, "Stifel Financial reported 1Q11 operating EPS of $0.52 compared to our/ consensus estimates of $0.59/0.61....

Bloomberg reports that Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) sees possible losses for legal matters reaching $2.7B. Goldman discloses CFTC probing role of GSEC as clearing broker and says that the CFTC has orally advised it will recommend action regarding client subaccounts.

Before Stifel Financial (NYSE: SF) reported earnings, its stock saw a pretty wild swing at the end of the day. After trading higher throughout most of the session, the stock plunged a full point in the final 30 minutes of trading. The stock was as high as 44.11 per share, but closed with at 43.01,...

Bloomberg reports that Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) says it could lose $240M on CDIB lawsuit.