Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) Cut to "Hold" at HSBC

Key Points

• HSBC downgraded Palantir to a Hold and cut its price target to $151 (from $205), implying only about a 4.6% upside from the current price.
• Analyst views remain mixed but generally positive: several firms (including Oppenheimer, William Blair and Northland) have recent Outperform/Buy calls, and the MarketBeat consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a target of $192.17.
• The stock traded around $144.37 (up ~3.8%), carries a high valuation (P/E ~229.13) and has seen significant insider selling—about 1,029,879 shares (~$137.7M) sold in the past 90 days.

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at HSBC from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday. They currently have a $151.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $205.00. HSBC's target price points to a potential upside of 4.60% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. William Blair upgraded Palantir Technologies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Northland Securities upgraded Palantir Technologies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Phillip Securities reduced their price target on Palantir Technologies from $208.00 to $190.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Palantir Technologies in a research report on Thursday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Finally, DZ Bank assumed coverage on Palantir Technologies in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $175.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Palantir Technologies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $192.17.

Palantir Technologies Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of NASDAQ PLTR traded up $5.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $144.37. The company had a trading volume of 25,896,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 49,064,652. The company has a market capitalization of $345.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 229.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.68. Palantir Technologies has a 1 year low of $105.32 and a 1 year high of $207.52. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $145.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.72.

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. Palantir Technologies had a return on equity of 23.81% and a net margin of 36.31%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 70.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Palantir Technologies will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Palantir Technologies news, insider Alexander C. Karp sold 493,025 shares of Palantir Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.78, for a total transaction of $65,956,884.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,432,258 shares of the company's stock, valued at $860,507,475.24. The trade was a 7.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen Andrew Cohen sold 327,088 shares of Palantir Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.72, for a total value of $43,738,207.36. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $79,162.24. This trade represents a 99.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,029,879 shares of company stock valued at $137,746,253. 9.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palantir Technologies

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in Palantir Technologies by 54.5% during the third quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 156 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 45.65% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Palantir Technologies

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

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and a $200 price target, calling Palantir an AI-application leader with strong switching costs and defense/commercial tailwinds. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Palantir won a $300M Blanket Purchase Agreement with the USDA to modernize farm services — a sizable government deal that adds revenue visibility and reinforces government-commercial mix. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: New commercial wins include a multi‑year deployment with Cleveland‑Cliffs to apply Palantir’s AI across steel operations, supporting the firm’s industrial adoption narrative. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street estimates point to very strong Q1 upside (some analysts expect triple‑digit EPS growth and steep revenue gains), which is fueling buy-side momentum ahead of the print. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Options and models imply a sizeable post‑earnings move (the market is pricing in double‑digit swing potential), increasing trade opportunities but also risk around the print. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts have upgraded or adjusted targets recently, producing mixed signals: bullish on long‑term AI traction but differing on how much premium the stock should command. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: RBC and other voices flag valuation stretch — PLTR’s high P/E leaves it vulnerable to multiple compression if growth or guidance disappoints. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Prominent short sellers remain active (notably Michael Burry), and several pieces advise caution ahead of earnings given the stock’s steep run and sentiment sensitivity. Read More.

Palantir Technologies Company 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.

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.