National Discount Brokers Signs Deal with Briefing.com

Shares of online broker National Discount Brokers (NYSE: NDB) were up sharply in early trading today after the company announced an agreement with Briefing.com, a leading site for financial markets analysis. The deal will give customers of National Discount Brokers free access to much of Briefing.com's proprietary financial information, analysis and commentary.

Customers will be able to access Briefing.com's Stock Analysis service for free, a service that normally costs $6.95 a month, or $70 (US$) a year. Briefing.com also offers a more comprehensive service for professionals, which costs $25 a month, or $250 a year.

Access to Upgrades and Downgrades

Among the most useful features on Briefing.com that National Discount Brokers will be able to get for free are updated lists of upgrades and downgrades, analysis of technology stocks and earnings, and splits calendars.

"Briefing.com offers not only important financial markets information but also insights into what is significant and why it matters to individual investors," said Dennis Marino, chairman and CEO of National Discount Brokers.

Numerous Content Partners for Briefing.com

Briefing.com's service also provides updated analysis throughout each trading day, including reports on "Stocks in Play" and up-to-the-minute company news.

The deal with National Discount Brokers gives the privately held Briefing.com additional exposure. At the end of February, National Discount Brokers had approximately 128,000 customer accounts, with assets of about $6.5 billion.

However, Briefing.com's service is already well-known in the financial sector. Briefing.com also provides content to partners including America Online, Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, E*Trade, Excite, Yahoo! and the Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition.

Stock Impact

Shares of National Discount Brokers were up 5 to 43-5/8 in early trading. At these levels, this is still one of the better value plays among online brokers. National Discount Brokers is actually profitable and has a price/earnings ratio around 35, which is healthy for the Internet sector. The company's stock is also well off its 52-week high of 93.

National Discount Brokerage stock is also benefiting from the better-than-expected earnings report competitor E*Trade (Nasdaq: EGRP) released this morning. E*Trade was upgraded from market perform to buy by Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette today, and was up 5-3/16 to 79 in early trading.