JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR) Stock

Key Points

• JPMorgan raised Palomar’s price target from $150 to $167 and kept an overweight rating, implying about 18.7% upside from the prior close.
• Other analysts have also turned more positive on PLMR, with firms like Piper Sandler and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifting targets; the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $162.50.
• Palomar reported earnings of $2.31 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 59.7% year over year; the shares recently traded up to $140.74, near the stock’s 52-week high.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $150.00 to $167.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target indicates a potential upside of 18.66% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on PLMR. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Palomar from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Palomar from $132.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Evercore set a $152.00 price objective on shares of Palomar in a report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Palomar from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Palomar from $162.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palomar has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $162.50.

Palomar Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PLMR traded up $5.30 during trading on Monday, reaching $140.74. 45,909 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 272,203. Palomar has a 52-week low of $100.81 and a 52-week high of $147.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.49 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $119.29 and a 200-day moving average of $123.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55 and a beta of 0.41.

Palomar (NASDAQ:PLMR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.14. Palomar had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 20.11%.The company had revenue of $278.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $557.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 59.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Palomar will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mac Armstrong sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.96, for a total value of $395,360.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 329,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,207,668.48. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, President Jon Christianson sold 6,863 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.50, for a total transaction of $957,388.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 66,478 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,273,681. This trade represents a 9.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 17,843 shares of company stock worth $2,270,468 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLMR. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Palomar in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Palomar during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Palomar by 81.5% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 294 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in Palomar by 638.3% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 443 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palomar in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. 90.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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