Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) Trading 4.5% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLMR) rose 4.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $108.88 and last traded at $107.8950. Approximately 80,382 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 257,526 shares. The stock had previously closed at $103.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PLMR. Evercore began coverage on shares of Palomar in a research report on Monday, February 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Palomar from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Palomar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Palomar from $151.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.75.

Palomar Stock 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.12 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $118.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.42.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $278.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $557.79 million. Palomar had a net margin of 20.11% and a return on equity of 22.62%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Palomar Holdings, Inc. will post 8.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Palomar news, President Jon Christianson sold 1,937 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.62, for a total value of $249,136.94. Following the sale, the president owned 65,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,478,501.78. The trade was a 2.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Mac Armstrong sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.39, for a total value of $400,365.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 332,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,079,058.32. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,634 shares of company stock worth $2,318,111. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palomar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Palomar in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Palomar during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Palomar by 81.5% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in Palomar by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Palomar by 638.3% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 443 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.25% of the company’s stock.

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.