PiperJaffray's Take On Brokerages

In a new report, PiperJaffray initiated coverage on a long list of brokerage stocks. Here’s a breakdown of what analyst Jason Weyenth had to say.

Invesco Ltd IVZ- Overweight
Fundamentals are trending in the right direction, and the company is well-diversified and attractively valued.

Janus Capital Group Inc JNS- Overweight
Improving performance will drive strong earnings growth over the next several years.

Legg Mason Inc LM- Overweight
Strong global distribution trends, a well-positioned platform and a sizable tax asset-driven capital management business are three of the key positive attributes the company.

WisdomTreee Investments Inc WETF- Overweight
The stock remains reasonably valued, and it will continue to gain momentum from secular growth in the ETF space.

Apollo Global Management LLC APO- Overweight
The company has near-term headwinds, but the long-term outlook remains positive.

The Blackstone Group LP BX- Overweight
High expectations and recent outperformance are the only concerns as the company continues to fire on all cylinders.

KKR & Co LP KKR- Overweight
The launch of second-generation funds will continue to drive asset growth.

The Charles Schwab Corp SCHW- Overweight
The company has a high exposure to rising interest rates and is well-positioned to capitalize on bulk transfers from money funds.

E*TRADE Financial Corp ETFC- Neutral
The company has demonstrated significant strength in its turnaround efforts, but the outperformance of the stock in the past two years has brought it to a fair valuation.

Other names
In addition to the companies specifically discussed, PiperJaffray assigned Neutral ratings to TD Ameritrade Holding Corp AMTD, Franklin Resources Inc BEN, BlackRock Inc BLK, Eaton Vance Corp EV, Federated Investors Inc FII, T. Rowe Price Group Inc TROW, and Waddell & Reed Financial Inc WDR.