Essex Financial Services Inc. Grows Stake in Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR)

Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR - Free Report) by 19.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,389 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,307 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Palantir Technologies were worth $1,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palantir Technologies by 740.0% during the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 420 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 45.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Palantir Technologies Stock Down 9.4%

PLTR stock opened at $130.74 on Monday. Palantir Technologies Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.23 and a twelve month high of $148.22. The stock has a market cap of $308.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 568.43, a PEG ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 2.64. The business's 50-day moving average price is $125.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.81.

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.13. The company had revenue of $883.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.89 million. Palantir Technologies had a return on equity of 6.55% and a net margin of 18.32%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 39.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.08 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Palantir Technologies Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palantir Technologies

In other news, insider Heather A. Planishek acquired 10,000 shares of Palantir Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $116.14 per share, with a total value of $1,161,400.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 58,006 shares in the company, valued at $6,736,816.84. The trade was a 20.83% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lauren Elaina Friedman Stat sold 800 shares of Palantir Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.25, for a total value of $65,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 61,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,983,793.75. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,408,748 shares of company stock valued at $180,327,603. 12.93% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PLTR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. William Blair set a $84.00 price objective on Palantir Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Palantir Technologies from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Palantir Technologies from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Daiwa America raised Palantir Technologies to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Palantir Technologies from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palantir Technologies presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $89.32.

About Palantir Technologies

Palantir Technologies, Inc engages in the business of building and deploying software platforms that serve as the central operating systems for its customers. It operates under the Commercial and Government segments. The Commercial segment focuses on customers working in non-government industries. The Government segment is involved in providing services to customers that are the United States government and non-United States government agencies.

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