UPDATE: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Upgrades LPL Financial on 2014 Outlook

In a report published Friday, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Joel Jeffrey upgraded the rating on LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) from Market Perform to Outperform.In the report, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods noted, “How much further upside is there in brokerage stocks following their strong performance in 2013? We believe this is a particularly important question as the improvement in the share prices of brokerage stocks appears to have been driven by expectations for improved longer-term performance rather than better near-term earnings results. While we expect modest improvements in the operating businesses in 2014, we continue to believe that much of the performance of these stocks will continue to be driven by investors' expectations for earnings potential in ‘normalized' market conditions.”LPL Financial closed on Thursday at $43.30.