** Shares of regional lender Independent Bank rise as much as 6.6%; last up 4.3% at $66.68

** INDB late Thursday posted Q4 adjusted profit of $1.21/shr, beating Wall Street expectations of $1.16/shr - LSEG

** Q4 net interest income came in at $144.7 mln, higher than estimates of $142.3 mln

** Meanwhile, Q4 loan loss provisions of $7.5 mln were lower than Street expectations of $10.1 mln

** Piper Sandler says it was a solid quarter for INDB, adding that most importantly there was some credit quality improvement

** Adds that it expects the stock to outperform a touch on Friday

** Well-positioned to achieve profitability improvement through both net interest margin expansion and the pending acquisition of Enterprise - INDB CEO Jeffrey Tengel

** INDB last month inked a $562 mln cash-and-stock deal to buy Massachusetts-based Enterprise Bancorp

** INDB stock fell 2.5% in 2024

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru)

((ArasuKannagi.Basil@thomsonreuters.com;))