Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) Trading 2.8% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) shot up 2.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $178.49 and last traded at $177.50. Approximately 27,655,802 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 46,124,824 shares. The stock had previously closed at $172.73.

Key Stories Impacting Palantir Technologies

Here are the key news stories impacting Palantir Technologies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma reiterated a Buy rating, saying Palantir’s Maven Smart System is on track to reach approximately $1 billion in annual recurring revenue. Maven’s designation as an official Pentagon “program of record” could support longer-term, more predictable defense spending and adoption across the military. Palantir Stock Gains as William Blair Says Maven Is on Track for $1B ARR
• Positive Sentiment: Recent earnings momentum remains a major catalyst: revenue rose nearly 93% year over year to $1.94 billion, while earnings exceeded expectations. Growth-focused coverage highlights Palantir’s expanding commercial business, government relationships and modular software sales model as reasons the company could continue outperforming the market. 3 Reasons Growth Investors Will Love Palantir Technologies
• Positive Sentiment: Truist maintained a Buy rating and a $223 price target, while other bullish analysts see potential for a return toward the low-$200 range as defense spending and Maven adoption accelerate. Palantir Earns Buy Rating as Maven Nears Billion-Dollar Status
• Neutral Sentiment: Heavy options positioning around the September 18 expiration suggests traders expect another significant move, but it may increase short-term volatility rather than establish a clear direction. Palantir Stock Could Be in for a Big September
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains the principal risk. With Palantir trading at roughly 150 times earnings after a sharp recent rally, skeptics argue that exceptionally strong growth must continue to justify the stock price. Palantir’s Kool-Aid Moment
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling—including sizable sales by CEO Alex Karp and continued selling by co-founder Peter Thiel—could weigh on sentiment, although the transactions were made under pre-arranged plans and partly to cover tax obligations. Coverage also flags competition for European government and defense contracts, including from France’s ChapsVision. Palantir’s Bet Against Management

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on PLTR shares. Phillip Securities increased their price target on shares of Palantir Technologies from $190.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Palantir Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Palantir Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Palantir Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Palantir Technologies from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.19.

Palantir Technologies Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $426.54 billion, a PE ratio of 151.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.59. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.05.

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Palantir Technologies had a net margin of 49.01% and a return on equity of 30.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 92.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palantir Technologies Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palantir Technologies

In other news, insider Alexander C. Karp sold 492,348 shares of Palantir Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.79, for a total transaction of $86,057,506.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,432,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,124,294,375.82. The trade was a 7.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Shyam Sankar sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $19,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 599,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,986,870. The trade was a 20.00% 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 723,431 shares of company stock valued at $117,330,908 over the last three months. Insiders own 9.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palantir Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PLTR. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new position in shares of Palantir Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $222,143,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Palantir Technologies by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 79,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,092,000 after buying an additional 5,070 shares during the period. Income Insurance Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Palantir Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $1,228,000. Sun Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,282,000. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in Palantir Technologies by 36.8% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 6,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $858,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.65% of the company’s stock.

About Palantir Technologies

Palantir Technologies is a software company that develops data integration, analytics and operational decision-making platforms for government and commercial customers. Founded in 2003 by a team that included Alex Karp and Peter Thiel, Palantir has grown into a provider of enterprise-scale software designed to help organizations integrate disparate data sources, build analytic models and drive operational workflows. The company went public in 2020 and continues to position its products around large, complex data projects where security, provenance and real-time collaboration are important.

Palantir’s product portfolio centers on a small number of core platforms.