UBS and Jefferies & Co. last week became the latest firms to launch coverage on the increasingly popular exchanges sector. At UBS, senior analyst Michael Carrier launched coverage on the International Securities Exchange, and plans to launch additional coverage soon. He is taking on coverage in addition to his regular coverage of over a dozen financial services companies. At Jefferies, senior analyst Richard Shane launched coverage on NYSE Group, and will add more companies to the roster. The new coverage is in addition to his coverage of various finance stocks. “More and more brokerages will get into this area because exchanges are a hot new commodity,” one recruiter predicted. In the past six months, at least four large brokerages launched coverage on the sector (WSL, 6/30).
Analysts and recruiters believe that investor interest in exchanges has picked up in the area because NYSE Group went public in March and more exchange mergers and IPOs could be in the works. The American Stock Exchange and the Chicago Board Options Exchange have also started demutualizing, and could go public in the coming few years. Carrier and Shane declined to comment.