Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Palomar from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings raised Palomar from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Palomar from $170.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Six 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.50.

Palomar Price Performance

Shares of Palomar stock opened at $127.62 on Friday. Palomar has a 52-week low of $107.75 and a 52-week high of $175.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $127.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.40.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.45. Palomar had a net margin of 22.59% and a return on equity of 21.93%. The company had revenue of $244.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.98 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. Analysts predict that Palomar will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mac Armstrong sold 11,484 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 91,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,997,431.56. The trade was a 11.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Jon Christianson sold 1,991 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,998 shares of company stock worth $7,255,669. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Palomar

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Palomar in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Palomar by 210.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Palomar by 1,970.0% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Palomar in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Palomar by 31.0% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 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.