What happened
Shares of Palantir Technologies (PLTR -0.25%) rose on Thursday, following positive analyst remarks. By the close of trading, the stock price was up 3.8% after rising as much as 6.3% earlier in the day.
So what
Raymond James Financial analyst Brian Gesuale placed a strong buy rating on Palantir's shares. He sees the data analytics provider's stock price reaching $20 in the year ahead. If he's correct, investors could enjoy gains of more than 90% from the stock's closing price of $10.49 on Thursday.
Gesuale is intrigued by Palantir's ability to help businesses and government agencies aggregate, analyze, and protect their ever-increasing collections of data. He also praised Palantir's moves to simplify its software tools, which should allow it to be used by more people with little to no programming experience.
Additionally, Gesuale believes the risk-to-reward profile for investors is now more attractive following the sharp downturn in Palantir earlier this year. Even after today's gains, its share price is down over 60% from the highs it reached in September.
Gesuale argues that Palantir's stock is now a compelling buy given its projected annual revenue growth rate of 30% through 2025, high gross margins, and massive $120 billion total addressable market.
Now what
Gesuale isn't the only analyst who's optimistic about Palantir's prospects. Bank of America analyst Mariana Perez Mora placed a buy rating on its stock in late June. Though she's not quite as bullish as Gesuale, Perez Mora sees Palantir's shares rising roughly 24% to $13, driven by strong demand for its artificial intelligence-powered data solutions.
