Top 10 hottest trends in the IBD industry
The past two years have been tough on LPL Financial, the largest IBD with more than 14,000 registered reps and advisers. In January 2014, one Wall Street analyst slapped a $60-per-share target on the stock, LPL Financial Holdings Inc., which at the time was trading at around $53 per share. It's been downhill ever since.
After announcing tens of millions of dollars in fines from regulators in 2014 and 2015 and watching its shares decline, LPL became the target of activist investor Marcato Capital Management last November. The hedge fund bought a 6% stake in the company.
LPL responded by announcing a $500 million buyback to boost the price of its shares, now around $33, as well as a plan to reduce the rate of growth of its core general and administrative expenses.