Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) Shares Up 4.5% – Here’s Why
by Michael Walen · The Markets DailyShares of Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLMR – Get Free Report) shot up 4.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $108.88 and last traded at $107.8950. 80,382 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 257,526 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.27.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several brokerages recently commented on PLMR. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Palomar from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Palomar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Palomar from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Palomar from $186.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Evercore began coverage on shares of Palomar in a report on Monday, February 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.75.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Palomar
Palomar Trading Up 5.1%
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.32.
Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.14. Palomar had a net margin of 20.11% and a return on equity of 22.62%. The firm had revenue of $278.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $557.79 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 59.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Palomar Holdings, Inc. will post 8.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Insider Activity at Palomar
In related news, President Jon Christianson sold 1,937 shares of Palomar stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.62, for a total transaction of $249,136.94. Following the sale, the president directly owned 65,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,478,501.78. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mac Armstrong sold 3,500 shares of Palomar stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.39, for a total transaction of $400,365.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 332,888 shares in the company, valued at $38,079,058.32. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 18,634 shares of company stock worth $2,318,111 over the last ninety days. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palomar
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Palomar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palomar during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Palomar by 81.5% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palomar by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palomar by 638.3% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. 90.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
About Palomar
Palomar Holdings, Inc (NASDAQ: PLMR) is a specialty insurance holding company focused on providing medical stop-loss coverage and related administrative services to self-funded employer health plans in the United States. The firm operates through two primary business segments—Medical Stop-Loss and Specialty Program Management—to deliver tailored risk protection and comprehensive program administration.
In its Medical Stop-Loss segment, Palomar underwrites excess and aggregate stop-loss policies designed to shield self-insured employers from catastrophic medical claims that exceed pre-determined retention levels.