Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR) Stock Price Up 1.4% - Should You Buy?

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) saw a modest increase in its stock price, rising by 1.4% on Friday. The company’s shares reached a peak of $67.00 before settling at $66.97 at the end of trading. During mid-day trading, around 15,210,859 shares changed hands, reflecting a significant decline of 74% compared to the average daily volume of 58,644,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.05.

Wall Street Analyst Insights

Several analysts have recently provided their views on Palantir shares. Northland Capital Markets updated its rating to “hold” on August 22nd. Meanwhile, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Palantir from a “hold” to an “underperform” rating, setting a price target of $28.00 in a report issued on November 7th. Conversely, Wedbush adjusted their price target for Palantir from $57.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating. Additionally, Goldman Sachs raised their target price from $16.00 to $41.00 while maintaining a “neutral” rating. Royal Bank of Canada maintained an “underperform” rating with a price target of $9.00 in their August 6th report. Overall, six analysts have issued sell ratings, eight recommended holding, and two rated it as a buy, resulting in a consensus rating of “Hold” with a target price of $35.64 based on data from MarketBeat.

Palantir Technologies Price Trends

Palantir’s stock has experienced a significant surge recently, attributed in part to its announcement of moving to the NASDAQ. The company’s 50-day moving average is at $48.27, while the two-hundred-day average stands at $34.55. Palantir has a market capitalization of approximately $151.85 billion. With a price-to-earnings ratio of 334.87 and a PEG ratio of 8.93, the stock shows a beta of 2.70, indicating higher volatility compared to the market.

In its most recent earnings report on November 4th, Palantir announced earnings of $0.10 per share, surpassing analysts’ expectations of $0.09 by $0.01. The company generated revenue of $725.52 million, which was above the expected $705.11 million. Notably, Palantir’s net margin stood at 18.01%, with a return on equity of 9.94%. This represents a substantial 30% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the same period last year, during which the company recorded $0.03 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Palantir will achieve earnings of approximately $0.21 per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Palantir Technologies

In recent insider trading news, Alexander C. Karp, an insider at Palantir, sold 1,620,395 shares on November 22nd at an average price of $63.21, amounting to a total transaction value of approximately $102.43 million. Post-sale, Karp retains 6,432,258 shares, valued around $406.58 million, reflecting a 20.12% reduction in his ownership. Director Lauren Elaina Friedman Stat also sold shares, offloading 9,746 shares at an average price of $66.77, bringing in around $650,740. After this transaction, she holds 111,644 shares, valued at approximately $7.45 million. In total, insiders have sold about 34,163,181 shares valued at over $1.60 billion in the past 90 days, with insider ownership now at 12.93%.

Institutional Investors’ Movements

Several institutional investors have made substantial movements regarding Palantir shares recently. For instance, State Street Corp increased its stake by 96.4% in the third quarter, now holding 82,512,440 shares valued at over $3.06 billion after acquiring an additional 40,498,024 shares. Geode Capital Management raised its position in Palantir by 52.9%, owning 47,946,926 shares worth $1.78 billion. Additionally, International Assets Investment Management boosted its holdings by an impressive 3,476.2%, increasing its ownership to 6,832,301 shares valued at $254.16 million. Charles Schwab Investment Management grew its stake by 60.5%, owning 12,387,040 shares worth about $460.80 million. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings surged by 594.3%, bringing its total to 3,550,176 shares worth nearly $89.93 million. Currently, institutional investors control 45.65% of Palantir's stock.

About Palantir Technologies Inc.

Palantir Technologies Inc. specializes in developing and deploying software solutions for the intelligence community, aiding in counterterrorism investigations in the U.S. and internationally. One of its flagship products, Palantir Gotham, allows users to unveil complex patterns hidden within large datasets, facilitating the communication between analysts and operational users, thus enabling effective real-world decision-making based on identified threats.

Is Now the Time to Invest in Palantir Technologies?

If you're considering investing $1,000 in Palantir Technologies right now, it's essential to conduct thorough research. Currently, Palantir is rated as a “Reduce” among top analysts, indicating potential caution. They suggest focusing on five alternative stocks that may have stronger growth potential. It's advisable to keep a close watch on Palantir's performance and analyst ratings moving forward.

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