Palantir stock rises on UBS coverage, army deal

  • December 19, 2024
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Investing.com — Palantir Technologies Inc . (NASDAQ:PLTR) stock climbed 3% following a new coverage initiation by UBS and news of an extended partnership with the U.S. Army. The rebound comes after a 3.9% decline on Wednesday, which was influenced by the market’s reaction to hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve.

UBS analyst Karl Keirstead initiated coverage on Palantir with a Neutral rating and an $80 price target, citing a very positive outlook on the company’s fundamentals and revenue growth projections for 2025/2026 that surpass Street consensus by 200 basis points. Keirstead’s assessment is based on conversations with 17 large Palantir customers, aiming to demystify the core functions of Palantir’s offerings and their potential uplift from AI-Data exposure. Despite the positive forecast, Keirstead noted that the company’s current valuation was a factor in the neutral stance, with Palantir trading at 49 times revenue and 124 times free cash flow based on 2025 estimates, which he found challenging to justify.

In a separate development, Palantir announced an extension of its long-standing partnership with the U.S. Army. The agreement, valued at approximately $400.7 million for up to four years, with a ceiling of $618.9 million, supports the “Army Data Platform” (ADP) through the Army Vantage capability. This deal underscores Palantir’s continuing role in providing data analytics solutions to the military sector and may contribute to investor confidence in the company’s ability to secure substantial government contracts.

The UBS analyst was quoted saying, “2025/2026 estimates that are well above the Street consensus (+200bps on revs growth) and a very positive view of the fundamentals.” This commentary reflects a belief in Palantir’s strong future revenue growth and fundamental business strengths, even as the valuation remains a point of caution for the analyst.

Investors appear to have responded favorably to the combination of UBS’s coverage and the significant army contract, resulting in today’s uplift in Palantir’s stock price. As the company continues to navigate its position in the competitive data analytics market, these developments could be critical in shaping its financial trajectory and market valuation.

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