Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLMR) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLMR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 628,000 shares, a growth of 29.4% from the March 31st total of 485,200 shares. Approximately 2.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 261,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Palomar Stock Performance

Shares of Palomar stock opened at $151.81 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 33.89 and a beta of 0.51. Palomar has a 52 week low of $77.28 and a 52 week high of $155.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $137.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.13.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.13. Palomar had a net margin of 21.23% and a return on equity of 19.76%. Research analysts forecast that Palomar will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Palomar

In related news, CFO T Christopher Uchida sold 1,000 shares of Palomar stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.00, for a total value of $139,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,413,908. The trade was a 8.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mac Armstrong sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.72, for a total transaction of $648,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 402,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,197,771.36. This represents a 1.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,254 shares of company stock worth $2,443,484 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palomar

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLMR. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in Palomar in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Palomar by 536.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Palomar by 185.3% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Palomar during the first quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Palomar by 63.2% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 493 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Palomar from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Palomar from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Palomar from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Palomar from $145.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Palomar in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.33.

About Palomar

Palomar Holdings, Inc, a specialty insurance company, provides property and casualty insurance to residential and businesses in the United States. The company offers personal and commercial specialty property insurance products, including residential and commercial earthquake, fronting, commercial all risk, specialty homeowners, inland marine, Hawaii hurricane, and residential flood, as well as other products, such as assumed reinsurance.