E*TRADE’s Brokerage Accounts Growth Swells Triple Digits MoM, DARTS Fall

E*TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ETFC) has released its monthly metrics for February 2016, which were underpinned by a marked decline in its trading, according to a recent E*TRADE Financial statement.

As per the latest metrics release in November, E*TRADE’s Daily Average Revenue Trades (DARTs) came in at 164,077, falling -6.4% MoM from 175,346 in January 2016. However, over a yearly interval, E*TRADE’s performance was also lower, as it saw its DARTs plunge by -8.5% YoY from 179,420 in February 2015.

In terms of brokerage accounts, E*TRADE secured an increase of 17,875 gross new accounts in February 2015 – this corresponds to a strong advance of 271.1% MoM from 4,815 newly added brokerage accounts in January 2016 – in total, this brings the company’s overall accounts to approximately 3.236 million.

Moreover, E*TRADE also saw its customer security holdings come in at $192.6 million during February 2016, inching higher by 1.1% MoM from $190.4 million in January 2016, and -10.8% lower YoY from $216.0 million in February 2015.

The staunch increase in brokerage accounts is positive news for the group after its trading activity retreated slightly during the month – this was partially explained by fewer trading days in February (19) vs. 20 in January.

E*TRADE’s share prices (NASDAQ: ETFC) has been stuck in a negative trend since the beginning of the New Year. After hitting a floor at $20.20 in February, shares have rebounded up to $25.30 at the time of writing during US trading Monday.