What Happened?

A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after comments from a key Federal Reserve official boosted hopes for an interest rate cut. 

New York Federal Reserve President John Williams stated he sees “room for a further adjustment” in the near term, sparking a significant market rally. Following his remarks, the probability of the central bank cutting rates at its December meeting jumped from 39% to over 73%, according to the CME FedWatch tool. This positive sentiment provided relief to markets amid concerns over high valuations, particularly in AI-related stocks.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Regional Banks company Independent Bank (NASDAQ: INDB) jumped 4.9%. Is now the time to buy Independent Bank? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Regional Banks company Old National Bank (NASDAQ: ONB) jumped 4.9%. Is now the time to buy Old National Bank? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Zooming In On Independent Bank (INDB)

Independent Bank’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 7 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 4 months ago when the stock gained 5.7% on the news that the company reported second-quarter financial results that beat Wall Street estimates for both adjusted earnings per share and revenue. 

The holding company for Rockland Trust posted adjusted earnings of $1.25 per share, surpassing the analyst consensus estimate of $1.21. Revenue for the quarter came in at $181.8 million, which also topped forecasts of approximately $179.5 million. The bank's net income rose to $51.1 million, an increase from the $44.4 million reported in the first quarter of 2025. This improvement was attributed mainly to higher revenues and a significantly lower provision for credit losses, which decreased to $7.2 million from $15.0 million in the prior quarter. The company also saw a healthy increase in total deposits, which grew by $217.7 million to $15.9 billion. In a sign of confidence, the company also announced a new stock repurchase plan, authorizing the buyback of up to $150 million in common stock.

Independent Bank is up 10.5% since the beginning of the year, and at $69.84 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $74.97 from November 2024.

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