Bear Stearns Companies (BSC)

Well Positioned to Continue Growth: Current management has noted Bear Stearns record profitability in the past five years, an average of about 25% pre-tax profit margin annually and it determined to remain well positioned to sustain and surpass this current rate of growth.

Leading Prime Brokerage: Steadily increasing yearly revenue from Bear Stearns' Global Clearing Services segment indicates in addition to growing client accounts and a pre-tax profit margin, Bear Stearns is utilizing its 30.6% market share of US fund assets more effectively year on year.

Bids bottom line JP Morgan is upping the bid to at least $10 per share. Shares of Bear Stearns immediately shot past that mark, up to near $11.50 per share. Obviously the market is thinking this bid is still too low. There is still a possibility of another bid emerging. Perhaps only if JP Morgan is once again pressed, but for now, $10, or about $1.6 billion for the whole company, is the bid.

Given that the bid is now $10, it is expected that this would be the “floor” that investors holding BSC stock will be taken out at. The Federal Reserve is backing this deal, and we don’t expect it will take any time at all to clear regulatory hurdles, and all that’s left to bicker about is price. OK, Great. That gives options investors a chance to sell volatility and still duck behind the protection of that “floor” bid at $10 at the end of the day.