What Happened?

A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after comments from a key Federal Reserve official hinted at a potential interest rate cut in December. John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, signaled he was open to lowering the fed funds rate—the key interest rate that banks charge each other for overnight loans—to support the job market. Speaking at an event, Williams stated that he sees “room for a further adjustment” for interest rates, which immediately shifted market expectations. Following his remarks, the perceived likelihood of an interest rate cut at the Federal Reserve's December meeting flipped from unlikely to more likely than not. The prospect of lower borrowing costs sent a wave of optimism through the markets, leading to a rally in major indices like the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Nasdaq Composite.

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:

• Professional Staffing & HR Solutions company Korn Ferry (NYSE: KFY) jumped 3.7%. Is now the time to buy Korn Ferry? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Specialized Technology company PAR Technology (NYSE: PAR) jumped 3.4%. Is now the time to buy PAR Technology? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Business Process Outsourcing & Consulting company TaskUs (NASDAQ: TASK) jumped 3.8%. Is now the time to buy TaskUs? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Zooming In On TaskUs (TASK)

TaskUs’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 14 days ago when the stock gained 2.4% on the news that the company reported third-quarter 2025 financial results that surpassed Wall Street's expectations for both revenue and earnings. 

The digital outsourcing provider posted revenue of $298.7 million, up 17% year on year, while its adjusted earnings per share of $0.42 also beat forecasts. In addition, the company's revenue guidance for the full year exceeded analysts' estimates. However, the results were somewhat mixed, as its revenue forecast for the upcoming fourth quarter fell slightly below expectations. Despite the soft near-term outlook, investors appeared to focus on the strong quarterly performance and improved full-year guidance, sending the shares higher.

TaskUs is down 34% since the beginning of the year, and at $11.16 per share, it is trading 39.6% below its 52-week high of $18.46 from December 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of TaskUs’s shares at the IPO in June 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $358.80.

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