Analyst Sees E*TRADE (ETFC) Worth $10-$11 In a Buyout

As speculators weigh the fate of E*TRADE (Nasdaq: ETFC), shares of the online broker have been whip-sawed. Some see the company as a buyout target, others think the mortgage portfolio could get the best of the company and it could end up in bankruptcy.

Today, analysts at Fox-Pitt Kelton weighted in. The firm thinks E*TRADE could fetch between $10-$11 per share in a deal. But this is lower than the buyout price the firm saw last month, which was $18. The fear in the market is that this value could keep creeping lower.

E*TRADE rivals TD Ameritrade (Nasdaq: AMTD) and Charles Schwab (Nasdaq: SHCW) are seen as likely buyers of the company, but, as the Wall Street Journal pointed out yesterday, they could be worried that some of the company's mortgage assets haven't been marked to market. There is also concerns that federal agencies could force proceeds from a sale to be injected back into E*Trade's bank, leaving little left over for shareholders.

E*Trade has been extremely volatile since plummeting 59% on 11/12 on bankruptcy fears. The stock is down 1.5% to $4.53 today.

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