Palantir Technologies
stock has been on a tear this year, and the gains continued Tuesday as the shares traded near a two-year high.
Palantir
(ticker: PLTR) stock has soared more than 200% in 2023, driven largely by the investor frenzy over artificial intelligence. In Tuesday morning trading, the shares rose to $20.02, which would mark the highest close since Nov. 30, 2021, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
Still, despite this year’s triple-digit percentage gain, shares of the data-analytics software company are still down 49% from their record close of $39 on Jan. 27, 2021.
Over the last several months, multiple factors have boosted shares. In June, the company said it was awarded a multiyear contract worth up to $463 million to deliver technology to the U.S. Special Operations Command. In July, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives launched coverage of the company at Outperform, calling it “The Messi of AI.”
In August, Palantir unveiled a $1 billion stock repurchase program and lifted guidance. And earlier this month, the tech company posted better-than-expected financial results for its third quarter.
Analysts are mixed on the stock, with 30% rating it Buy, 35% Neutral, and 35% Sell, according to FactSet. Wedbush analysts, led by Ives, however, continue to feel very optimistic about the stock.
“Our favorite tech names remain
Apple,
Microsoft,
Google,
Palo Alto,
Palantir,
Zscaler,
CrowdStrike,
and
MongoDB,
” they wrote in a Sunday report. “The macro story is overshadowing the biggest technology revolution in the last 30 years with AI a ‘1995 Moment’ and we believe the fundamental tech growth stories/use cases are accelerating into 2024.”
Write to Emily Dattilo at emily.dattilo@dowjones.com
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