Prudential Financial, Inc. (PRU), headquartered in Newark, New Jersey, provides insurance, investment management, and other financial products and services. Valued at $37.5 billion by market cap, the company offers a variety of products and services, including life insurance, mutual funds, annuities, pension, and retirement related services, as well as administration and asset management. 

Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as “large-cap stocks,” and PRU definitely fits that description, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, reflecting its substantial size, influence, and dominance in the insurance - life industry. PRU’s strengths lie in its diversified business model, strategic positioning, and scale, enabling growth, resilience, and innovation. Its brand equity, built on trust and reliability, provides a competitive edge. Financial resilience, technological capabilities, and a strong talent culture further enhance its market position, allowing it to weather economic downturns and drive growth.

Despite its notable strength, PRU slipped 18.7% from its 52-week high of $130.55, achieved on Nov. 27, 2024. Over the past three months, PRU stock declined marginally, underperforming the Nasdaq Composite’s ($NASX) 12.9% gains during the same time frame.

In the longer term, shares of PRU dipped 10.5% on a YTD basis and fell 9.6% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming NASX’s YTD gains of 2.1% and 14.7% returns over the same time frame.

To confirm the bearish trend, PRU is trading below its 200-day moving average since mid-December, 2024, with some fluctuations. However, despite the negative price momentum, the stock has started trading above its 50-day moving average recently. 

On Apr. 30, PRU shares closed down more than 1% after reporting its Q1 results. Its adjusted EPS of $3.29 exceeded Wall Street expectations of $3.21. The company’s revenue was $13.4 billion, falling short of Wall Street forecasts of $14.5 billion.

In the competitive arena of insurance - life, MetLife, Inc. (MET) has taken the lead over PRU, showing resilience with a 3% loss on a YTD basis and a 13% uptick over the past 52 weeks. 

Wall Street analysts are cautious on PRU’s prospects. The stock has a consensus “Hold” rating from the 17 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $115.20 suggests a potential upside of 8.6% from current price levels.