Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Palomar Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLMR) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $127.18, but opened at $136.74. Palomar shares last traded at $129.00, with a volume of 109,935 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Palomar from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Palomar from $112.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Palomar in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Palomar from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Palomar from $133.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.33.

Palomar Trading Up 0.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.70 and a beta of 0.33. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $111.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.84.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.13. Palomar had a net margin of 21.23% and a return on equity of 19.76%. On average, analysts predict that Palomar Holdings, Inc. will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO T Christopher Uchida sold 552 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.26, for a total value of $68,039.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 15,683 shares in the company, valued at $1,933,086.58. This trade represents a 3.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mac Armstrong sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.04, for a total value of $721,280.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 419,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,213,739.52. This represents a 1.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,485 shares of company stock valued at $4,098,195. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palomar

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLMR. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Palomar in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Palomar by 490.9% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Palomar by 536.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 349 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Palomar by 63.2% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 493 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Palomar by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. 90.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Palomar Company Profile

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.