Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $59.18, but opened at $61.01. Palantir Technologies shares last traded at $62.65, with a volume of 17,013,443 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Palantir Technologies from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Argus cut Palantir Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Mizuho raised their target price on Palantir Technologies from $30.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Palantir Technologies from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price objective on shares of Palantir Technologies from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.71.

Palantir Technologies Trading Up 9.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $145.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 318.82 and a beta of 2.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.65.

Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.01. The firm 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 revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Palantir Technologies Inc. will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palantir Technologies

In related news, insider Heather A. Planishek sold 11,373 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.25, for a total transaction of $366,779.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 600,633 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,370,414.25. This represents a 1.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lauren Elaina Friedman Stat sold 8,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.06, for a total transaction of $514,411.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 121,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,047,903.40. This trade represents a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,239,238 shares of company stock worth $1,036,731,557 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 12.93% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palantir Technologies

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PLTR. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in Palantir Technologies in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Palantir Technologies in the third quarter valued at $25,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Palantir Technologies during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Palantir Technologies by 269.5% during the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. 45.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Palantir Technologies

Palantir Technologies Inc builds and deploys software platforms for the intelligence community to assist in counterterrorism investigations and operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company provides Palantir Gotham, a software platform which enables users to identify patterns hidden deep within datasets, ranging from signals intelligence sources to reports from confidential informants, as well as facilitates the handoff between analysts and operational users, helping operators plan and execute real-world responses to threats that have been identified within the platform.