Yahoo: Have We Seen the Bottom?
Have Yahoo (YHOO) shares finally hit bottom? The beleaguered shares have staged a three-day, 8 percent rise, which makes you wonder if the stock’s close Tuesday at $17.58 might have been the bottom. This morning, Jefferies analyst Youssef Squali added fuel to the move, asserting in a research note that at current levels, “the stock is washed-out with minimal expectations,” but with a variety of options for creating shareholder value.
Squali today cut his target on the stock to $26, from $28, and trimmed his 2009 EPS estimate to 55 cents, from 64 cents. But he also repeated his Buy rating, and asserted that the stock on a sum-of-the-parts basis is worth between $25.42 to $26.26 a share. (Seems a little overly specific, but whatever.)
Squali says that the pending advertising outsourcing deal with Google (GOOG) could provide “an immediate catalyst” for the shares, although he notes that the regulatory scrutiny of the deal has picked up, “which may delay its implementation.”
