What Happened?

A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after investors kept bidding the group lower after last week’s Federal Reserve hike. On September 16, the Fed raised the federal funds target range by 25 basis points to 3.75%–4.00%, its first increase since 2023, according to the Federal Reserve’s FOMC statement. The Fed said economic activity and domestic spending remain resilient, but stressed that inflation is still elevated and that the increase is intended to support a return to its 2% inflation goal. Higher policy rates can lift yields on interest-earning assets for some lenders. The tape has stayed focused on the less favorable side of a more restrictive backdrop: slower loan demand, higher borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, potential credit deterioration, and softer capital-markets activity. Those risks are still being marked into growth-sensitive financial earnings, which is why the selling has not stopped at last Wednesday’s announcement.

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:

• Investment Banking & Brokerage company LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) fell 6.3%. Is now the time to buy LPL Financial? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Custody Bank company Northern Trust (NASDAQ: NTRS) fell 3%. Is now the time to buy Northern Trust? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Custody Bank company Ameriprise Financial (NYSE: AMP) fell 3.8%. Is now the time to buy Ameriprise Financial? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Investment Banking & Brokerage company Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) fell 2.8%. Is now the time to buy Morgan Stanley? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Diversified Financial Services company Paymentus (NYSE: PAY) fell 5.8%. Is now the time to buy Paymentus? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On LPL Financial (LPLA)

LPL Financial’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 5 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 11 months ago when the stock gained 10.2% on the news that the company reported third-quarter results that surpassed analyst expectations on several key metrics. The wealth management firm posted adjusted earnings of $5.20 per share, a 25% increase from the prior year and well ahead of the $4.49 consensus estimate. Revenue also impressed, growing 48.4% year-over-year to $4.55 billion, beating forecasts. While the company reported a small pre-tax loss on a GAAP basis, investors appeared to focus on the strong underlying business momentum. This was highlighted by its assets under management (AUM), which surged 48.9% year-over-year to $2.3 trillion, also easily clearing Wall Street's expectations. The strong performance in adjusted earnings, revenue, and asset growth fueled investor optimism.

LPL Financial is down 14.3% since the beginning of the year, and at $310.02 per share, it is trading 21.2% below its 52-week high of $393.25 from February 2026. Despite the year-to-date decline, investors who bought $1,000 worth of LPL Financial’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,103.

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