Lehman Brothers' Stock Surges As Quarterly Report Assuages Market About Liquidity

AP
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Lehman Brothers' Stock Surges As Quarterly Report Assuages Market About Liquidity


NEW YORK (AP) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.'s stock surged Tuesday after the investment bank reported a profit for the fiscal first quarter and convinced the market its liquidity is not under threat.
The New York-based bank earned $489 million in the fourth quarter, a decline of 57 percent but nothing justifying rumors that Lehman Brothers was in danger of falling victim to the same fate as Bear Stearns Cos.

Standard & Poor's analyst Matthew Albrecht upgraded Lehman Brothers to "Hold" from "Sell." The bank's quarterly report "should assuage fears that it faces any type of liquidity crisis."

Goldman Sachs analyst William F. Tanona added Lehman Brothers to the Americas Buy List, a list of top stop picks. He said he believes the market is overestimating the likelihood Lehman Brothers runs out of cash.

Lehman surged $13.34, or 42 percent, to $45.09. The stock had plunged Monday on fears that Lehman's liquidity was in danger.