** Brokerage Charles Schwab SCHW.N reported a near 37% jump in adjusted first-quarter profit on Thursday, driven by upbeat performance in its asset management and trading businesses
** Average recommendation of 23 brokerages is "buy", median PT is $89 - data compiled by LSEG
BROKERAGE ON THE RISE
** Citigroup ("buy", PT: $102) expects continued progress in the coming quarters due to decreasing supplemental funding, better transactional cash trends, net new assets growth and securities maturities/interest
** Raymond James ("outperform", PT: $91) says co's market volatility is boosting trading, which helps offset lower margins and potential Fed rate cuts in 2025
** Jefferies ("buy", PT: $88) says "cash levels have been better than expected and will likely be more volatile in April, given the normal tax seasonality, with potential offsets from client de-risking during heightened market uncertainty"
** TD Cowen ("buy", PT: $95) sees strong momentum in new business trends and demographics, operating leverage and rapidly improving balance sheet flexibility
** "We think a building likelihood will be the emergence of a third-party sweep deposit program" - TD Cowen
(Reporting by Akriti Shah in Bengaluru)
((akriti.shah@thomsonreuters.com))