Deal for Yahoo’s Asian Assets Could Drive Stock to $20: Pro

With Yahoo set to announce its fourth-quarter earnings after the bell Tuesday, Macquarie analyst Ben Schachter wasn’t expecting much from the troubled Internet company. Instead, he was looking towards a possible deal to sell the company’s Asian assets.

“If they can get the deal done, and they can do it most tax efficiently, you are talking about a $20 stock,” Schachter told “Fast Money.” “That’s been the bull case for a lot of folks for years now and they haven’t been able to get this done."

The recent departure of Yahoo’s co-founder Jerry Yang is viewed by Wall Street as paving the way for a major infusion of cash from private equity, or a deal to sell off much of its 40 percent stake of China’s Alibaba, which would unlock value for shareholders.

While a deal is what Schachter thinks will drive the stock, he doesn’t expect new CEO Scott Thompson to address it on Tuesday’s conference call.

“I doubt we’re going to hear much, so unfortunately I think it’s going to be a relatively unexciting evening for Yahoo,” he said. “An earnings call is not typically the right place to give a lot of detail on a potential deal.”

In fact, he doesn’t expect to hear any bold new plans for the company for the simple reason that Thompson only recently took the helm of the company.

“He has to get to know the company,” Schachter said. “He has to get to know the assets, know the employees “

Yahoo’s fourth quarter earnings are expected to show the Internet company is still losing ground to Google and Facebook in the battle for online advertising. The company’s net revenue has declined from the previous year in 12 consecutive quarters and that streak is expected to be extended with the company’s latest results.

Related Stories:

• Ahead of the Bell: Yahoo set to release 4Q report
• Yang's Departure Could Drive Yahoo to $20: Adami

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Trader disclosure: On Jan. 24, 2012, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC’s "Fast Money" were owned by the "Fast Money" traders: Terranova owns AXP; Terranova owns F; Terranova owns APC; Terranova owns WFM; Terranova owns OXY; Terranova owns XOM; Terranova owns TRLG; Terranova owns SBUX; Terranova owns JNPR; Terranova owns VRTS; Terranova owns IBM; Terranova owns LQD; Terranova owns SU; Terranova owns SJM; Terranova owns BRCM; Terranova owns MUB; Terranova owns EMC; Terranova owns CSCO; Terranova owns V; Terranova is long UNG April $5 puts; Edwards is long AAPL; Edwards is long GLD; Edwards is long MSFT;
Edwards is long INTC; Edwards is long MCD; Edwards is long JNK; Edwards is long BMY; Edwards is long WLT; Edwards is long QCOM; Edwards is long GWW; Weiss is long AAPL; Weiss is long RIMM; Weiss is long VZ; Weiss is long QCOM; Weiss is long BRCM; Weiss is long EUO; Weiss is long CSC; Weiss is long GM; Weiss is long F; Weiss is short V; Weiss is short WLT

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