Investment Banking & Brokerage

Cowen Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: COWN) and LaBranche & Co Inc. (NYSE: LAB) today announced a definitive merger agreement under which Cowen will acquire LaBranche, a market-maker in options, exchange-traded funds and futures on various exchanges domestically and internationally. Under the terms of...

KBW, Inc. (NYSE: KBW) today announced total revenues for 2010 were $425.9 million, an increase of 10.0% above those of 2009. Revenues for quarter ended December 31, 2010 were $97.1 million, 11.5% higher than those of the fourth quarter of 2009 and 8.4% above those of the third quarter of 2010. Net...

On CNBC's Fast Money, Zach Karabell said that he is bullish on LogMeIn, Inc. (NASDAQ: LOGM). He explained that this company allows you to remotely control your computer. LogMeIn, Inc. (LOGM) fell 0.40% in the regular trading session, but it gained 1.28% in the after hours. Joe Terranova likes...

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) surged higher this morning on the back of a strong market. JPMorgan Chase found itself trading at $43.30, +1.48 (+3.16%). Other financial stocks were mixed as Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) dropped sharply to $32.86, -0.82 (-2.43%) and Goldman Sachs Group...

Deutsche Bank has a Hold rating and a $17 price target on shares of E TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC). In a note to clients, Deutsche Bank writes, "ETFC reported its monthly metrics with DARTs coming in at ~181K (+22% m/m & +5% y/y), slightly ahead of expectations, but slightly below...

Citi Investment Research is out with a research report on the Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY), Genzyme (NASDAQ: GENZ) deal. Sanofi purchased Genzyme at a value of $74 per share, with a contingent value right (CVR) to be as high as $14 per share. In the note, Citi writes, "Combined with an additional...

E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) today released its Monthly Activity Report for January 2011. Daily Average Revenue Trades (“DARTs”) for January were 180,967, a 22 percent increase from December and a five percent increase from the year ago period. The company ended the month with...

Rodman & Renshaw Capital Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: RODM) today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2010. Revenue, excluding principal transactions, of $23.5 million, compared to $34.0 million and $18.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 and the...

On CNBC's Fast Money Pops & Drops, Jon Najarian said that he would stay away from Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS). He explained that the recovery in housing hasn't yet come, and Masco Corporation (MAS) is losing a lot of money. Masco Corporation (MAS) fell 9.23% in the regular trading session,...

E Commerce China Dangdang (NASDAQ: DANG) was having a very good session, but has now given back most of its earlier gains. The shares had gained over 5% at one point, but have been falling in afternoon trade. Currently, DANG is up just 1.73% at $26.45. Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) initiated the stock...

According to a report by Salt TV, Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK) is in the spotlight again – this time for amending a lawsuit against Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) alleging that the firm undervalued the company's stock in an unscrupulous process known as short selling. Overstock.com says that new...

Shares of St. Louis, Missouri-based Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF) are currently up 8.8% at $71.93 per share during Tuesday afternoon trading. Today's trading range for shares of Stifel Financial Corp. has been between $71.00 and a 52-week high of $73.20 per share. The consensus price target of...

Charles Schwab (NASDAQ: SCHW) Schwab released January metrics this morning. While total trades of 512K were 7% better than Goldman's estimate, SCHW noted seasonal One-Source trades were a major driver of increased activity, thus it expects the percent of trades that are revenue based likely fell to...

Stifel Financial (NYSE: SF) reports its Q4 non-GAAP EPS at $1.11, beating the consensus of $0.86. SF reports its Q4 revenue at $402.8 million, versus the consensus of $364.34 million. SF shares gained 0.05% to close at $66.15 yesterday. Read more from Benzinga's Company news.

Unconfirmed Rumors continue to Circulate that Investment Technology Group Inc. (ITG) will be taken Private at 24.00 a share.