What happened
Shares of Palantir Technologies (PLTR +1.32%) charged sharply higher (again) on Monday, spiking as much as 12.3%. As of 1:50 p.m. ET, the stock was still up 8.6%. This marks the second consecutive day of remarkable gains, as the stock gained more than 10% on Friday.
The artificial intelligence (AI) and data-mining specialist moved higher Friday on an initiation and bullish commentary by a veteran Wall Street analyst. That same analyst was making the rounds to discuss his call, further stoking excitement about the stock.
NASDAQ: PLTR
Key Data Points
So what
To recap, on Friday, veteran Wedbush analyst Dan Ives initiated coverage on Palantir, assigning the stock an outperform (buy) rating and a $25 price target, which represents potential gains for investors of 55% compared to Thursday's closing price. The analyst's bullish commentary helped drive the stock higher.
Ives followed up that call by making the rounds on the financial programming circuit, comparing Palantir to soccer great Lionel Messi, who led Argentina to a FIFA Cup win last year. Ives points out that while many companies peddling AI solutions are Johnny-come-latelies, Palantir has a proven track record of success. He further argues that the company's history of top-secret contract work for the U.S. government and its allies gives Palantir a great deal of credibility, particularly in terms of data security.
Now what
I've long argued that Palantir's stock is a buy, as investors climbed the wall of worry about its ability to offer competitive solutions to enterprises. The company recently added a new layer of AI functionality onto its existing solutions, and CEO Alex Karp said demand for its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) "is without precedent," which suggests Ives commentary is spot on.
Palantir stock is quite pricey, selling for more than 15 times next year's sales. That said, given the company's long track record and growing market opportunity, I'd argue that the premium is well deserved.
We're still in the early stages of the AI revolution, and Palantir is well positioned to ride these secular tailwinds higher.
