Palantir Just Beat Earnings And The Stock Is Ripping, But 4 Analysts Are Mixed

Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR reported strong first-quarter results, driving its shares more than 20% higher during Tuesday’s morning session.

By The Numbers: Palantir’s revenue increased 18% year-over-year to $525 million, beating the consensus estimates of $505.6 million. Palantir reported quarterly earnings of 5 cents per share, beating consensus estimates of 4 cents per share.

Growth was observed across various segments, with U.S. revenue growing by 23% year-over-year, commercial revenue up by 15%, and government revenue increasing 20%.The company's total customer count also saw a significant rise, with a 41% increase year-over-year and a 50% jump in U.S. customers.

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What do the analysts think? It’s mixed.

William Blair

Louie DiPalma notes that while Palantir beat consensus expectations, the company guided second-quarter revenue growth to 12%, in what would be its slowest growth rate as a publicly traded company.

Palantir shares will trend to the $5 to $6 range as the valuation multiple re-rates to reflect the more mature growth profile, DiPalma says, citing headwinds associated with U.S. government renewals and the slowdown in company's government revenue growth.

Morgan Stanley

Keith Weiss maintained an $8 price target and highlights that Palantir's headlines looked promising, led by total revenues growing 18% year over year.

Weiss pointed out a more mixed picture in the underlying metrics, including the sliding dollar-based net retention rates and the deceleration in revenue growth. The analyst believes the full year 2023 guide may hold risk given Palantir’s waning internal metrics.

Raymond James

Brian Gesuale gave Palantir a Strong Buy rating and set a $15 price target, noting that the company’s profitability and growth opportunities are pacing ahead of expectations.

Gesuale is optimistic about the enthusiasm around Palantir's new AI Platform, describing the demand as "unprecedented." The analyst also noted that Palantir finished the quarter with $2.9 billion in cash on the balance sheet, which could support future growth.

RBC Capital Markets

Rishi Jaluria maintained an Underperform rating and set a $5 price target, noting that Palantir's results were effectively in line after excluding “all the noise.”

Palantir’s leading indicators do not look encouraging, with RPO, cRPO, NRR, and TDV all down sequentially, Jaluria noted. He is also skeptical about Palantir's claim to be an AI company, viewing it as a data processing platform with heavy professional services.

Price action: Shares of Palantir are trading nearly 23% higher to $9.47, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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