Van ECK Associates Corp Decreases Stock Position in Palantir Technologies Inc. $PLTR

Key Points

• Van ECK Associates reduced its Palantir stake by 15.4% in the second quarter, selling 914,314 shares and retaining 5.01 million shares valued at approximately $584.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 45.65% of the company.
• Palantir insiders sold 721,764 shares worth about $117.1 million in the latest quarter, including CEO Alexander Karp’s sale of 492,348 shares for roughly $86.1 million. The transactions were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Palantir reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, with sales up 92.8% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average $192.19 price target, although the stock’s roughly 159 P/E ratio and divided analyst views highlight valuation risk.

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR - Free Report) by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,007,820 shares of the company's stock after selling 914,314 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.21% of Palantir Technologies worth $584,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Palantir Technologies by 0.4% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 189,817,693 shares of the company's stock worth $22,146,030,000 after buying an additional 757,322 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Palantir Technologies by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 102,385,317 shares of the company's stock worth $18,198,990,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126,418 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Palantir Technologies by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 54,200,265 shares of the company's stock worth $9,599,882,000 after acquiring an additional 805,047 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Palantir Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,149,641,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Palantir Technologies by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 22,415,082 shares of the company's stock worth $3,984,281,000 after acquiring an additional 616,297 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palantir Technologies

In related news, insider Shyam Sankar sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.70, for a total transaction of $5,449,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 642,786 shares in the company, valued at $100,081,780.20. This represents a 5.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Alexander C. Karp sold 492,348 shares of Palantir Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were 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 owned 6,432,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,124,294,375.82. This represents a 7.11% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 721,764 shares of company stock worth $117,080,858 in the last quarter. 9.53% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on PLTR. President Capital raised shares of Palantir Technologies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $25.50 to $133.00 in a research report on Monday, June 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $204.00 target price on shares of Palantir Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Northland Securities set a $200.00 target price on Palantir Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wedbush began coverage on Palantir Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Palantir Technologies in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $192.19.

Palantir Technologies Stock Performance

Palantir Technologies stock opened at $186.29 on Friday. Palantir Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $106.37 and a fifty-two week high of $207.52. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.05. The company has a market capitalization of $447.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 159.22, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.59.

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion for 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 92.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Palantir Technologies Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Palantir Technologies News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Exceptional growth and profitability: Palantir’s Rule of 40 score reportedly reached 155%, supported by approximately 93% revenue growth and a 62% adjusted operating margin. The figures reinforce the bullish view that the company is converting AI demand into both rapid sales expansion and strong cash generation. Palantir's Rule of 40 Surge Signals Strong AI-Driven Performance
• Positive Sentiment: Defense AI momentum: Palantir’s Maven Smart System is approaching a $1 billion annual revenue run rate, while Pentagon funding and its designation as a program of record could support as much as $2.30 billion over five years. This gives investors greater visibility into a potentially significant government growth engine. Palantir's Pentagon AI Business Is Closing In on $1 Billion a Year
• Positive Sentiment: Strong technical and investor interest: PLTR recently broke out to a new high and was added to prominent best-stock and watch lists. Analysts and bullish commentators argue that the sovereign-AI opportunity and Palantir’s execution could justify price targets above current Wall Street estimates. Palantir, Nvidia Among 17 Stocks Rising Onto Best Stock Lists
• Neutral Sentiment: Covered-call strategies are being discussed after the recent rally, reflecting strong demand for PLTR exposure but also investor interest in generating income and potentially limiting downside.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a major risk: With Palantir trading at roughly 159 times earnings, some value investors view the stock as attractive only at a substantially lower price. Analysts also remain divided over whether its growth can justify the premium valuation. Value Investor Admits Palantir Cheaper Than Expected
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and AI concentration concerns: CEO Alexander Karp has sold nearly $86 million of stock, and co-founder Peter Thiel has reduced his stake over time. Separately, investor Steve Eisman warned that AI revenue at major cloud companies is heavily concentrated among OpenAI and Anthropic, raising questions about the durability of AI-related spending and valuations. NVIDIA, Palantir Technologies, and the AI Achilles' Heel

About Palantir Technologies

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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