Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) Trading 3.2% Higher - Still a Buy?

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR - Get Free Report) rose 3.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $70.38 and last traded at $70.35. Approximately 23,996,589 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 70,494,305 shares. The stock had previously closed at $68.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PLTR shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Palantir Technologies from $55.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Palantir Technologies from $28.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Northland Securities upped their price target on Palantir Technologies from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Argus downgraded Palantir Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, William Blair restated an "underperform" rating on shares of Palantir Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $42.12.

Palantir Technologies Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $69.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.69. The company has a market capitalization of $157.95 billion, a PE ratio of 346.70, a P/E/G ratio of 6.24 and a beta of 2.82.

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $725.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $705.11 million. Palantir Technologies had a return on equity of 9.94% and a net margin of 18.01%. The firm's revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Palantir Technologies Inc. will post 0.2 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palantir Technologies

In related news, insider Stephen Andrew Cohen sold 450,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.95, for a total value of $31,927,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 592 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,002.40. The trade was a 99.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lauren Elaina Friedman Stat sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.29, for a total transaction of $61,032.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 62,139 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,740,584.31. This trade represents a 1.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,642,189 shares of company stock valued at $1,444,232,453 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 12.93% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palantir Technologies

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. RMR Wealth Builders boosted its holdings in shares of Palantir Technologies by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 7,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Christensen King & Associates Investment Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Palantir Technologies by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Christensen King & Associates Investment Services Inc. now owns 5,897 shares of the company's stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Palantir Technologies by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 4,780 shares of the company's stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV grew its holdings in Palantir Technologies by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV now owns 19,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Palantir Technologies by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 87,392 shares of the company's stock worth $3,251,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.65% of the company's stock.

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.