Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR) is approaching the $40 threshold, driven by strong momentum and significant investor enthusiasm.
Currently, the stock is valued at $39.58 — while it has experienced a minor dip of 0.47% for the day, this decline is likely a temporary setback.
Over the last week, the price of PLTR has increased by 8.68%, 29.41% over the past month, and is up a remarkable 138.51% year-to-date (YTD).
Is PLTR set to rise further?
In the last month, PLTR has oscillated between $29.50 and $39.29, now nearing the higher end of that range.
Palantir’s notable revenue expansion, coupled with a relentless demand for AI solutions, has driven substantial price movements throughout 2024. This momentum has proven robust enough to overshadow the recent $600 million stock sale by CEO and founder Peter Thiel, which had minimal impact on the stock’s value.
In total, Thiel has divested over $1 billion in Palantir shares, but these sales were executed under SEC rule 10b5-1, suggesting they were prearranged.
A particularly strong bullish signal comes from analyst price targets. Mariana Perez Mora at Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) recently included PLTR in the firm’s prestigious U.S. 1 List, raising her target from $30 to $50. TipRanks indicates that Perez Mora boasts an impressive success rate of 91%, with an average return of 39% from her ratings.
This positive sentiment is shared by others; Dan Ives of Wedbush, a known proponent of PLTR, has reaffirmed his ‘Buy’ rating and adjusted his price target from $38 to $45.
Bearish views on Palantir
Despite the stock’s notable gains in 2024 and a favorable short-term forecast, it’s important for investors and traders to consider contrasting perspectives.
Concerns about PLTR’s elevated valuation have been persistent among institutional investors, although there seems to be a slight shift in consensus. Additionally, the company’s effort to shift revenue streams from government contracts to the private sector has yielded mixed results, with performance declining in recent quarters.
Furthermore, apprehensions exist that the current high stock prices may encourage significant profit-taking by institutional investors, possibly leading to a sharp drop in the stock’s value.
The outlook for Palantir is not entirely optimistic, as the company has received a considerable number of ‘Sell’ ratings on Wall Street. Many analysts harbor bearish sentiments, with the average price target sitting at $27.67, which implies a potential decrease of 30.25% from the current stock price.
In summary, while it appears likely that PLTR will surpass the $40 mark in the near future, there are substantial concerns regarding the stock’s ability to sustain such elevated price levels over the long term.
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