Palantir Technologies CEO Alex Karp speaks on Bloomberg Television during the FoundryCon event in Palo Alto, California, March 7, 2024.
David Paul Morris | David Paul Morris Bloomberg | Getty Images
Palantir Shares of the data analytics software maker rose 23% on Tuesday and set a record close after the company reported strong third-quarter results and gave encouraging revenue guidance.
The stock hit a high of $51.19, above last week’s all-time high of $45.14. If the gains hold, it would mark the stock’s biggest gain since February 6, when shares rose 30%.
According to LSEG, revenue increased 30% from the same period last year to US$726 million, exceeding analysts’ average estimate of US$701 million. Adjusted earnings per share were 10 cents, beating the average estimate of 9 cents.
“The growth was driven by better-than-expected U.S. government performance,” analysts at Deutsche Bank said in a note, driven by demand for artificial intelligence tools.
Analysts said: “Palantir is one of the few infrastructure software companies that has begun to meaningfully monetize generative AI, and its competitive position is driven by long-term investment and deep expertise in complex data integration. , especially the data security reputation built into its ontology.
Net income was $143.5 million, or 6 cents a share, up from $71.5 million, or 3 cents a share, a year earlier. The company expects fourth-quarter revenue of $767 million to $771 million. Analysts polled by London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) expected the company to be valued at $741.4 million.
Palantir is targeting U.S. commercial revenue of more than $687 million this year, accounting for about 24% of total revenue.
Bank of America raised its price target to $55 from $50 and maintained a buy rating.
“We continue to focus on the adoption and early adoption of PLTR’s AI products as more companies realize the time, resource and cost savings they can achieve,” Bank of America analysts wrote in a note to investors. “In our view, It appears that Palantir’s moat as a differentiated agnostic AI enabler will only continue to grow with every new use case that delivers compound unit economics.”
—CNBC’s Jordan Novet and Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
