Some Wall Street analysts think the alternatives available to CEO Jerry Yang could give Yahoo the boost its shareholders crave, while keeping the company out of Microsoft’s clutches.

A counter-offer from Microsoft, or one of a couple of possible scenarios, offer Yahoo’s stakeholders a win-win situation. Either way, they should see increased value in the company as a result.

CNN Money said no one has emerged as a competitor for Microsoft’s bid, which initially valued Yahoo at $44.6 billion. An anticipated rejection of Microsoft’s offer should happen today.

This may be the usual give and take of negotiations, albeit a less than friendly exchange. Yahoo, formed as a directory of websites in the earliest days of a World Wide Web that lacked the search services we see today, has no desire to end up a Microsoft property.

Yahoo isn’t two guys with a web server any longer. Shareholders want to see something happen, and while they would prefer the meteoric performance of Google’s stock, they may have to settle for a generous premium.

Bernstein Research analysts cited in the report believe a rumored deal to outsource paid search to Google values Yahoo at $37 per share. If Yahoo could pull off some kind of deal for AOL’s advertising business, the value may be in the $40 range.

However, Microsoft has the ability to take on some debt and make a $35 or even $40 per share bid, with the $35 seen as a likely counter-offer. The report noted an opinion from RBC Capital Markets that Yahoo can’t turn down a mid-30s offer unless they have another option on the table.

Turning down Microsoft’s bid may not be Mission Impossible, but unless Yahoo has cooked up another deal that they are ready to unveil, it may be Mission Unlikely.