What Happened?

A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after the release of a stronger-than-anticipated Producer Price Index (PPI) report showed wholesale inflation rose more than expected in January. 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the PPI, a key measure of inflation at the wholesale level, increased by 0.5% last month, significantly above the 0.3% consensus forecast from economists. On a year-over-year basis, the index rose 2.9%. This unexpectedly high reading suggests that inflationary pressures in the supply chain are more persistent than previously thought. The data has dampened investor optimism for near-term interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, as the central bank is less likely to lower borrowing costs while inflation remains elevated. This shift in expectations for monetary policy triggered a broad sell-off across the market, as traders adjusted to the possibility of interest rates remaining higher for longer.

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 Jefferies (NYSE: JEF) fell 10.4%. Is now the time to buy Jefferies? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Investment Banking & Brokerage company Interactive Brokers (NASDAQ: IBKR) fell 6.1%. Is now the time to buy Interactive Brokers? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Investment Banking & Brokerage company Evercore (NYSE: EVR) fell 6.5%. Is now the time to buy Evercore? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Personal Loan company LendingClub (NYSE: LC) fell 11.1%. Is now the time to buy LendingClub? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Specialty Finance company PROG (NYSE: PRG) fell 5.7%. Is now the time to buy PROG? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On LendingClub (LC)

LendingClub’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 30 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for LendingClub and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 4 months ago when the stock gained 10.7% on the news that the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter financial results that beat analyst estimates for both earnings and revenue. 

LendingClub announced quarterly earnings of 37 cents per share, surpassing the consensus forecast of 30 cents. Revenue also came in strong at $266.2 million, ahead of the $256.3 million expected. The strong results translated into significant year-over-year growth, with revenue climbing 31.9% and earnings per share nearly tripling from 13 cents in the prior year. The company's profitability also saw a notable improvement, as its pre-tax profit margin expanded by 12.6 percentage points compared to the same quarter last year, reaching 21.5%. Investors reacted positively to the strong top- and bottom-line beats and the clear signs of improving operational efficiency.

LendingClub is down 21.1% since the beginning of the year, and at $15.09 per share, it is trading 30.1% below its 52-week high of $21.58 from January 2026. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of LendingClub’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,278.

The 1999 book Gorilla Game predicted Microsoft and Apple would dominate tech before it happened. Its thesis? Identify the platform winners early. Today, enterprise software companies embedding generative AI are becoming the new gorillas. Click here for access to our special report that reveals one profitable leader already riding this wave, it’s free.