National Pension Service Raises Position in Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its holdings in Palantir Technologies by 5.3%, owning a total of 5,205,738 shares valued at approximately $439.36 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Insider transactions revealed that key executives, including David A. Glazer and Alexander C. Karp, sold a significant number of shares, resulting in a decrease of 5.85% and 5.29% respectively in their ownership stakes.
• Analysts have set various target prices for Palantir's stock, with recommendations ranging from "sell" to "buy," and an average target price of $136.61 reflecting a consensus rating of "Hold."

National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,205,738 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 262,410 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.22% of Palantir Technologies worth $439,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SHEPHERD WEALTH MANAGEMENT Ltd LIABILITY Co grew its position in Palantir Technologies by 95.7% during the 1st quarter. SHEPHERD WEALTH MANAGEMENT Ltd LIABILITY Co now owns 96,903 shares of the company's stock worth $8,183,000 after acquiring an additional 47,388 shares during the last quarter. Dagco Inc. purchased a new stake in Palantir Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $101,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Palantir Technologies by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 823,719 shares of the company's stock worth $69,580,000 after buying an additional 117,232 shares during the period. Prudential PLC lifted its holdings in Palantir Technologies by 216.4% in the 1st quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 107,313 shares of the company's stock worth $9,057,000 after buying an additional 73,396 shares during the period. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Palantir Technologies by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 652,885 shares of the company's stock worth $55,248,000 after buying an additional 70,475 shares during the period. 45.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palantir Technologies Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ PLTR traded down $2.60 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $184.37. 53,416,270 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 60,256,280. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $148.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.81. Palantir Technologies Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.31 and a 52 week high of $190.00. The stock has a market cap of $435.10 billion, a PE ratio of 614.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 2.60.

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Palantir Technologies had a return on equity of 10.75% and a net margin of 22.18%. The company had revenue of $1 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $939.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.09 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 48.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palantir Technologies Inc. will post 0.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson set a $170.00 target price on Palantir Technologies and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wedbush set a $200.00 price objective on Palantir Technologies and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $165.00 price objective (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Palantir Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $177.00 price objective (up previously from $158.00) on shares of Palantir Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Palantir Technologies from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $136.61.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Ryan D. Taylor sold 35,480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.39, for a total value of $4,484,317.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 367,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $46,472,465.49. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen Andrew Cohen sold 309,696 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.39, for a total value of $39,142,477.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,822.88. This trade represents a 99.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,515,632 shares of company stock valued at $196,472,623. 9.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.