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Investing.com - Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) initiated coverage on Slide Insurance Holdings (NASDAQ:SLDE) with an Equalweight rating and a $19.00 price target on Monday. The company, currently valued at $2.47 billion, has demonstrated strong financial health according to InvestingPro metrics, with an impressive overall score of 3.21 (GREAT).
The investment firm’s analysis focuses on Slide’s market share growth in the Florida coastal specialty homeowners market and its potential expansion into the Northeast and California regions, while maintaining strong underwriting margins. The company’s solid financial position is reflected in its healthy current ratio of 1.79 and robust revenue growth of 65.36% over the last twelve months.
Morgan Stanley notes that Slide has significantly increased its gross written premiums from approximately $480 million in 2022 to around $1.3 billion in 2024, largely by capitalizing on "depopulation" efforts that move policies from Florida’s state-backed Citizens insurance to private insurance programs.
The firm projects a conservative path for Slide’s gross written premiums to reach approximately $1.5 billion by 2027, with expectations that the company can maintain a mid-60s combined ratio through that period due to its modern technology architecture and data-driven underwriting approach.
Slide Insurance stock currently trades at approximately 7.2 times Morgan Stanley’s 2026 price-to-earnings estimate, compared to the peer average of about 12.4 times.
In other recent news, Slide Insurance Holdings has been the focus of several significant developments. The company recently announced the closing of its upsized initial public offering (IPO), with shares opening at $21, notably higher than the $17 IPO pricing. The IPO included 24 million shares, with Slide selling approximately 16.7 million shares, while certain selling stockholders offered the remaining shares. Underwriters exercised their option to purchase an additional 3.6 million shares, bringing the total gross proceeds from the IPO to about $469.2 million. However, Slide will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders.
In addition, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Slide Insurance with an Overweight rating, citing the company’s technology-enabled approach to insurance pricing as a competitive advantage. The firm set a price target of $25, highlighting Slide’s potential for improved profitability due to its innovative pricing system. Piper Sandler also noted that recent tort reform in Florida could further benefit the company by potentially reducing litigation-related claims costs. Barclays (LON:BARC) and Morgan Stanley served as joint book-running managers for the IPO, with Citizens Capital Markets, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, and Piper Sandler acting as co-managers.
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