According to the Securities Times app, which provides data analysis tools for enterprises and governments, $Palantir (PLTR.US)$ The stock price has surged over 150% year to date, thanks to the company's inclusion in the S&P 500 Index in September and its success in utilizing artificial intelligence.

As of press time,$Palantir (PLTR.US)$ Up another 2%, the stock price is approaching a historical high.

Palantir's performance in the second quarter of 2024, announced at the beginning of August, showed a year-on-year revenue growth of 27% to $0.678 billion, better than the market's expected $0.6528 billion; net income increased by 20% year-on-year to $0.134 billion, significantly exceeding the market's expected $82.8 million; adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) soared to $0.262 billion, a substantial 39% year-on-year growth. The second-quarter performance indicates that under the strong promotion of the "Palantir AI Platform" built by Palantir based on brand-new generative AI technology, the company continues to expand its commercial and government business scale.

What excites investors even more is that Palantir has raised its total revenue guidance for 2024 to a range of $2.74 billion to $2.75 billion, while analysts generally expected around $2.7 billion; the company also significantly raised its adjusted operating profit guidance for this year to a range of $0.966 billion to $0.974 billion, compared to analysts' expectations around $0.883 billion.

Palantir will announce its third-quarter 2024 results after the market closes on November 4th. Analysts currently expect that the company's Q3 revenue will increase by 26% year-on-year to $0.702 billion. In addition, investors will also focus on the latest situation of the company's new clients. Joe Tigay stated: "What I am more concerned about is the total number of the company's clients" and added that in the short term, for Palantir, increasing clients is more important than profits.

Palantir's launch of the Palantir AI platform (AIP) in 2023 has attracted widespread attention and has been widely used on a large scale by over 100 organizations globally, including the medical care and autos industries. This year, Palantir's ai tools have attracted new customers including Columbia Broadcasting Corporation, General Mills, and Aramark Services. The company continues to win large contracts from US and allied government institutions, with government revenue accounting for the majority of the company's total revenue.

Jim Worden, Chief Investment Officer of Wealth Consulting Group, stated that although Palantir's stock price may fluctuate after the performance announcement, this may not necessarily be a bad thing, and it may imply that the stock has more upside potential. Jim Worden believes that Palantir's business with government institutions provides an "anchor." He stated that Palantir has a "first-mover advantage, government contracts are sticky, and the switching costs are very high."

ClearBridge Investments LLC director and senior research analyst Hilary Frisch pointed out that Palantir needs to make tangible progress in attracting more clients. The analyst added that the recent rise of Palantir may be driven by individual investors rather than institutions, and the recent inclusion of the stock in the S&P 500 index may have caused some fluctuations, indicating that the company will be included in index-tracking funds held by major investors. The analyst stated that after being included in major indices, companies often need some time to grow to a level matching their valuation.

Overall, Wall Street analysts do not believe that Palantir's stock's strong momentum will continue. Analysts' average target price implies a potential downside of over 30% in the next 12 months. Analysts' caution stems mainly from Palantir's high valuation, with an expected P/E ratio of over 100 times, a significant premium compared to other AI companies. In contrast, the expected P/E ratio of 'AI dominator' Nvidia is around 37 times, while the software company Oracle, which also benefits from AI-related bullish dynamics, has an expected P/E ratio of only 26 times.

Raymond James analysts led by Brian Gesuale stated in a recent report that Palantir's stock "needs to consolidate the huge gains of the past few years." The analysts downgraded their rating on Palantir, adding that the rise in stock price means Palantir has "no room for error" when announcing performance next month.

Wall Street analysts are generally pessimistic about Palantir's prospects. Among the 21 analysts tracked by Bloomberg, only 4 recommend buying the stock, while the remaining 10 have a 'hold' rating and 7 have a 'sell' rating.

Editor/Somer