Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) Given New $98.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective points to a potential downside of 16.88% from the company's previous close.

PLTR has been the subject of several other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Palantir Technologies from $98.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their target price on Palantir Technologies from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Palantir Technologies from $90.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Palantir Technologies from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Northland Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Palantir Technologies from $38.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.95.

Palantir Technologies Price Performance

Shares of PLTR traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $117.90. 22,278,616 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 75,576,791. The firm has a market cap of $276.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 620.56, a PEG ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 2.68. Palantir Technologies has a one year low of $20.50 and a one year high of $125.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $93.57 and a 200-day moving average of $81.48.

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13. Palantir Technologies had a return on equity of 6.85% and a net margin of 16.13%. The company had revenue of $883.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.08 EPS. Palantir Technologies's quarterly revenue was up 39.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Palantir Technologies will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Alexandra W. Schiff sold 6,776 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.63, for a total value of $587,004.88. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 184,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,993,370.71. This represents a 3.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lauren Elaina Friedman Stat sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.25, for a total transaction of $65,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 61,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,983,793.75. The trade was a 1.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,978,181 shares of company stock worth $252,115,667. 9.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palantir Technologies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLTR. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in Palantir Technologies by 101.4% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 890 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Palantir Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $876,000. Destiny Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Palantir Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,233,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Palantir Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $11,769,000. Finally, Grange Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palantir Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,829,000. 45.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.