NEW YORK (AP) -- Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. shares bounced from its lows Thursday after an analyst upgraded his rating on the investment bank to "Buy," and believes it now has become a "hostile takeover candidate."Ladenburg Thalmann analyst Richard X. Bove believes that Lehman Brothers management values the company at a premium, and would be willing to sell at the right price. He believes that a "deep pocket buyer" could emerge to buy the nation's fourth-biggest investment bank.
"So the market is at a stand-off," Bove said in a note to clients. "Investors are unwilling to accept any positive view of the company; management is unwilling to sell out at a deeply distressed value. The stage is set for a hostile bid to take over the whole company."
Immediately after the note was published, Lehman Brothers shares -- down about 6 percent earlier in the session -- bounced higher. Shares of the company were down 9 cents at $13.64 in afternoon trading. The stock has traded between $12.02 and $67.73 over the past year.
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