Wall Street Zen Upgrades Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) to “Buy”

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Palomar from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Palomar from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore assumed coverage on Palomar in a research report on Monday, February 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Palomar from $170.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.17.

Palomar Stock Down 2.3%

PLMR stock opened at $120.61 on Friday. Palomar has a 52 week low of $107.75 and a 52 week high of $175.85. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $123.10. The company has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.44.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $492.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.58 million. Palomar had a net margin of 22.50% and a return on equity of 22.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 62.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Palomar will post 5.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Palomar news, CEO Mac Armstrong sold 11,484 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.88, for a total value of $1,376,701.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 91,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,997,431.56. This trade represents a 11.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Jon Christianson sold 1,991 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.88, for a total value of $238,681.08. Following the sale, the president owned 62,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,550,641.80. This trade represents a 3.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 58,999 shares of company stock valued at $7,253,229 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palomar

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Palomar by 1,970.0% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palomar in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palomar by 210.0% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Palomar during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Palomar during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 90.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Palomar Company Profile

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.