What Happened?
Shares of financial services company The Bancorp (NASDAQ: TBBK) jumped 3.9% in the afternoon session after an upgrade from financial services firm Raymond James, which raised its rating on the stock to “Strong Buy” from “Outperform.”. The financial services firm also increased its price target on the stock to $76 from $71. The upgrade is based on optimism around the company's focus on its fintech strategy, particularly its plan to expand its share of business with key partners like Chime and PayPal. According to the analyst note from Raymond James, this strategy is expected to enhance profitability while simultaneously de-risking the company's balance sheet by shifting its loan portfolio towards credit sponsorship fintech loans. The firm also noted that market concerns regarding The Bancorp's Real Estate Bridge Lending are likely “overblown.” The positive analyst action follows other recent good news, including a credit rating upgrade from Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) the previous week.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $65.02, up 3.6% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
The Bancorp’s shares are quite volatile and have had 19 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 7 days ago when the stock gained 6% after markets rebounded following a sharp sell-off in the previous trading session as investor optimism grew around a potential Federal Reserve interest rate cut following a weak U.S. jobs report. The softer-than-expected employment data for July fueled bets that the Fed could lower rates as soon as September to support the economy. This sentiment was reflected in the bond market, where the 10-year Treasury yield fell to a three-month low. Adding to the positive momentum, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) indicated it may support raising regulatory thresholds for banks, a move that could reduce compliance costs and further boost profitability for financial institutions.
The Bancorp is up 25.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $65.02 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $69.62 from July 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of The Bancorp’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $6,082.
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