Palantir Technologies Inc. $PLTR Position Cut by Arete Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Arete Wealth Advisors cut its Palantir stake by 37.8% in the first quarter, selling 12,119 shares and retaining 19,984 shares valued at approximately $2.9 million. Institutional investors own 45.65% of the company.
• Palantir reported a strong quarter, with earnings of $0.33 per share and revenue of $1.63 billion, exceeding analyst expectations; revenue increased 84.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $189.88, although insiders have sold more than 1.1 million shares worth roughly $150.2 million over the past three months.

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR - Free Report) by 37.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,984 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,119 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Palantir Technologies were worth $2,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Palantir Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palantir Technologies by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 175 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Clayton Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Palantir Technologies by 500.0% in the fourth quarter. Clayton Financial Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Palantir Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 45.65% of the company's stock.

Palantir Technologies Price Performance

PLTR stock opened at $123.53 on Wednesday. Palantir Technologies Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.37 and a 12 month high of $207.52. The firm has a market cap of $296.14 billion, a PE ratio of 138.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $141.58.

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. Palantir Technologies had a net margin of 43.67% and a return on equity of 28.34%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 84.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Palantir Technologies Inc. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PLTR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Palantir Technologies in a research note on Monday. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Palantir Technologies from $225.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Phillip Securities increased their price objective on shares of Palantir Technologies from $190.00 to $202.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Argus upgraded shares of Palantir Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Palantir Technologies in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $189.88.

Insider Activity at Palantir Technologies

In other news, insider Stephen Andrew Cohen sold 319,934 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.04, for a total transaction of $43,523,821.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $80,535.68. This trade represents a 99.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Shyam Sankar sold 35,000 shares of Palantir Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $4,550,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 642,786 shares in the company, valued at $83,562,180. The trade was a 5.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,112,270 shares of company stock worth $150,247,785. 9.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Palantir Technologies News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer reiterated its Outperform rating and $200 price target, citing the potential for a strong second-quarter earnings beat and another increase to Palantir’s outlook. Oppenheimer earnings expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and other market commentators expect revenue growth of roughly 85% in the second quarter, with U.S. government demand potentially supporting stronger full-year guidance. Palantir’s artificial-intelligence platform continues to gain traction with government and commercial customers. Palantir earnings outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Technical analysts noted that PLTR had recently reclaimed its 20-day and 50-day moving averages, while a bullish-flag pattern could support a rebound if earnings trigger an upside breakout. Palantir technical forecast

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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