Citi upgraded Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) stock to ‘Buy’ on January 12, raising its 2026 price target from $210 to $235, a 31.26% upside.
Though PLTR stock is still overwhelmingly rated as a ‘Hold’ by experts, it is clear that Wall Street has slowly been growing bullish on the technology giant.
Additionally, the more impressive part of the prediction from Citi analyst Tyler Radke’s is that Palantir could increase its revenue by up to 80% before the end of the year.
“We are upgrading PLTR to Buy/High-Risk from Neutral and raising estimates and our target price to $235,” Radke wrote in a note to clients.
He added: “Our upgrade is premised on the view that 2026 is poised to be another year of significant positive estimate revisions, with recent CIO + industry conversations suggesting AI budget and use cases are accelerating in the enterprise.”
2026 Palantir bull case
Judging by Radke’s remarks, the January 12, 2026, upgrade owes as much to Palantir’s historic performance and growth as to the increasing global instability. Specifically, the Citi analyst estimated that the ‘accelerating defense budgets’ could kickstart a government ‘supercycle’ sure to benefit defense and national security contractors such as Palantir.
The U.S. has, on the one hand, either executed or threatened military action against about half a dozen countries since New Year’s Day. Likewise, Russia has, for the second time ever, fired its new intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) against Ukraine in early January.
Furthermore, social media accounts affiliated with various Chinese agencies have been gradually increasing belligerence in their statements regarding Taiwan and Japan.
Indeed, and perhaps in response to recent events, President Donald Trump has called on America’s military budget to be increased to $1.5 trillion next year – 66.67% over the latest approved budget – helping numerous contractors rocket.
Could the E.U. be Palantir’s hidden 2026 growth engine?
Elsewhere, part of the optimism could also be stemming from Europe, as the continent is gearing up for a U.S. exit from the Ukrainian theater while also being fearful that 2026 might feature the first-ever acknowledged clash between two NATO countries: the U.S. and Denmark.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp previously remarked that his company is far more involved with E.U. countries than their leaders care to admit.
Radke’s framing is consistent with Palantir’s history and close relationship with various parts of the Federal Government. For this reason, a late December 2025 purchase of up to $50,000 PLTR shares by Congressman Jonathan Jackson drew particular attention.
Early 2026 Palantir stock price
Turning to the stock market, PLTR stock has, for the last 12 months, been on a fairly stable upward trajectory.
Despite the constant jitters in the short time frames, Palantir shares have risen an impressive 175% within the last year and are, at press time on January 12, 2026, changing hands at $179.03.
Featured image via Shutterstock
