Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Key Points

• Palantir Technologies was upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting positive sentiment among analysts.
• The company reported earnings of $0.16 per share in the last quarter, exceeding expectations and showcasing a revenue increase of 48.0% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Palantir, with Kingstone Capital Partners acquiring a new stake worth approximately $2.54 billion in Q2.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

PLTR has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley set a $155.00 target price on shares of Palantir Technologies and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Palantir Technologies from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wedbush set a $200.00 price target on shares of Palantir Technologies and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Palantir Technologies from $90.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho raised shares of Palantir Technologies from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $116.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $136.61.

Palantir Technologies Stock Up 2.6%

Palantir Technologies stock traded up $4.76 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $186.96. The stock had a trading volume of 62,386,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 61,219,692. The stock has a market capitalization of $441.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 623.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 2.60. Palantir Technologies has a 12-month low of $29.10 and a 12-month high of $187.99. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $145.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $115.87.

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Palantir Technologies had a net margin of 22.18% and a return on equity of 10.75%. The firm had revenue of $1 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $939.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.09 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 48.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Palantir Technologies will post 0.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ryan D. Taylor sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $5,250,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 363,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,657,125. This trade represents a 7.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Shyam Sankar sold 405,000 shares of Palantir Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.08, for a total transaction of $53,492,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 702,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $92,823,974.88. This trade represents a 36.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,515,632 shares of company stock worth $196,472,623. Insiders own 9.23% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Palantir Technologies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PLTR. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Palantir Technologies by 15.0% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 49,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,191,000 after purchasing an additional 6,479 shares during the period. Garrison Bradford & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Palantir Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Palantir Technologies by 8.2% in the first quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 25,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,189,000 after buying an additional 1,964 shares during the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palantir Technologies by 14.5% during the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 32,031 shares of the company's stock worth $2,703,000 after purchasing an additional 4,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Palantir Technologies by 36.3% during the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 24,054 shares of the company's stock worth $2,030,000 after buying an additional 6,405 shares during the period. 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.