Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) Trading Up 4.4% - Here's Why

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR - Get Free Report) shot up 4.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $79.46 and last traded at $78.74. 27,885,928 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 68,070,008 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on PLTR shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Palantir Technologies in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Palantir Technologies from $16.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Palantir Technologies in a research report on Friday, January 17th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $72.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Palantir Technologies in a report on Thursday, December 19th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Palantir Technologies to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Palantir Technologies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.61.

Palantir Technologies Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $187.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 412.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.29 and a beta of 2.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $73.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.84.

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $705.11 million. Palantir Technologies had a return on equity of 9.94% and a net margin of 18.01%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.03 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Palantir Technologies Inc. will post 0.19 earnings per share 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 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 sale, the insider now owns 592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,002.40. The trade was a 99.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Alexander C. Karp sold 4,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.03, for a total transaction of $247,635,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,432,258 shares in the company, valued at $353,967,157.74. This represents a 41.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,181,807 shares of company stock worth $1,288,448,522 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 12.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Palantir Technologies

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLTR. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Palantir Technologies by 60.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,387,040 shares of the company's stock valued at $460,798,000 after purchasing an additional 4,667,955 shares during the period. Diversify Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Palantir Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $876,000. Destiny Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,233,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Palantir Technologies by 22.9% in the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 370,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,786,000 after acquiring an additional 68,945 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Palantir Technologies by 19.2% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 541,567 shares of the company's stock worth $20,146,000 after acquiring an additional 87,062 shares during the last quarter. 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.