Ancora Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 20,556 Palantir Technologies Inc. $PLTR

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors acquired 20,556 Palantir shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $2.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 45.65% of the company.
• Palantir reported a strong quarter, with revenue up 92.8% year over year to $1.94 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.41, beating the $0.34 consensus estimate. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $192.19.
• Insider selling remains a concern: CEO Alexander Karp sold roughly $86.1 million in shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, while PLTR trades at a lofty P/E ratio of approximately 151.7.

Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 20,556 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,398,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in Palantir Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $222,143,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Palantir Technologies by 6.8% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Income Insurance Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Palantir Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $1,228,000. Sun Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $1,282,000. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Palantir Technologies by 36.8% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 6,294 shares of the company's stock worth $858,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares during the period. 45.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Palantir Technologies

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

• Positive Sentiment: William Blair reiterated a Buy rating, citing Palantir’s Maven smart-system program, which the firm believes is on track to reach $1 billion in annual recurring revenue. The analyst also sees potential support from renewed defense spending and a possible return toward the low-$200s. William Blair Maven analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Maven’s designation as an official Pentagon program of record could provide more durable, multi-year budget support as the platform expands across the military. That status strengthens the long-term government revenue outlook. Palantir Maven Pentagon program
• Positive Sentiment: The stock’s recent advance is being supported by its latest “blowout” quarter: revenue rose 92.8% year over year to $1.94 billion, while adjusted earnings of $0.41 per share exceeded the $0.34 consensus estimate. Strong commercial demand, government relationships and Palantir’s AI platform remain central to the bullish thesis. Palantir rally analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity around the September 18 expiration is unusually heavy, suggesting traders expect another significant move. This may increase volatility without establishing a clear fundamental direction. Palantir September options analysis
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Alexander Karp sold approximately $86.1 million of shares, while other insiders also reported sales. The transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans and partly covered tax obligations, but the timing may reinforce concerns that executives are monetizing the sharp rally. Alexander Karp stock sale
• Negative Sentiment: Michael Burry has added to his Palantir short position, arguing that the company’s valuation is difficult to justify. With PLTR trading at roughly 150 times earnings after a gain of more than 40% in a month, analysts and investors remain divided over whether future growth can support the price. Michael Burry Palantir short position

Insider Transactions at Palantir Technologies

In related news, insider Alexander C. Karp sold 492,348 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,432,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,124,294,375.82. This represents a 7.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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, Director Lauren Elaina Friedman Stat sold 3,032 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $500,280.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 54,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,927,655. This represents a 5.31% decrease in their position. 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. Corporate insiders own 9.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on PLTR. Wedbush initiated coverage on Palantir Technologies in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Palantir Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. They set an "overweight" rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Palantir Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Palantir Technologies in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of Palantir Technologies from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a 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 issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Palantir Technologies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $192.19.

Palantir Technologies Price Performance

Palantir Technologies stock opened at $177.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $426.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 151.71, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.59. Palantir Technologies Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.37 and a 1 year high of $207.52. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $141.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $141.39.

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Palantir Technologies had a net margin of 49.01% and a return on equity of 30.57%. Palantir Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 92.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Palantir Technologies Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Palantir Technologies Profile

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.

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