Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) Shares Down 5.4% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR - Get Free Report) fell 5.4% on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $70.31 and last traded at $71.85. 42,862,020 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 68,711,211 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.92.

Specifically, insider Ryan D. Taylor sold 483,987 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.48, for a total value of $36,047,351.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 170,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,681,933.04. This trade represents a 73.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lauren Elaina Friedman Stat sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.29, for a total value of $61,032.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 62,139 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,740,584.31. This represents a 1.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Palantir Technologies to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Palantir Technologies from $57.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Northland Securities upped their price target on shares of Palantir Technologies from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on Palantir Technologies in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Palantir Technologies from $28.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Palantir Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.12.

Palantir Technologies Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $159.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 349.97, a P/E/G ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 2.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.73.

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $725.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $705.11 million. Palantir Technologies had a net margin of 18.01% and a return on equity of 9.94%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Palantir Technologies Inc. will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Palantir Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PLTR. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Palantir Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $274,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Palantir Technologies by 7.1% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 468,890 shares of the company's stock worth $11,877,000 after purchasing an additional 31,047 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Palantir Technologies by 18.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 660,076 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,720,000 after purchasing an additional 102,758 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Palantir Technologies by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 364,841 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,241,000 after purchasing an additional 39,632 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in shares of Palantir Technologies by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 97,668 shares of the company's stock worth $2,474,000 after buying an additional 4,285 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.65% of the company's stock.

Palantir Technologies Company Profile

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.