Ameritrade Takeover Still More Talk Than Action

When Ameritrade's (AMTD Quote) CEO resigned last week for "personal reasons," watchers wondered what the heck was going on, and then did what any good the-bull-market-isn't-over-yet investors would do -- started buying.

Ameritrade's stock has picked up about 14% since Tom Lewis' departure made headlines on Aug. 7. It has outpaced competitors like E*Trade (EGRP Quote) and Charles Schwab (SCH Quote), as well as the Nasdaq.

But while visions of an Ameritrade takeover might be dancing in investors' heads like sugarplums , they may want to temper their enthusiasm. Despite almost a year of consolidation talk, there has been little action. Ah, but those dreams continue.

Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown analyst Glenn Schorr started coverage of Ameritrade Wednesday with just those thoughts -- and a buy rating. "While we anxiously await the conclusion of the [CEO] search, we can't help but wonder whether this event could be the impetus for the company's sale." (Deutsche Banc hasn't done any underwriting for Ameritrade.) ...