Data analytics company Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) has been on a strong upward trajectory for the last year and a half. The uptrend started in April of 2023 when PLTR stock was trading at just $7.75.
Since then, the price of a Palantir share has skyrocketed by a staggering 875.61% to reach $75.61 as of press time on January 23.
The artificial intelligence company has long been a favorite of retail investors — but institutional investors only gave the business a vote of confidence relatively recently.
Picks for you
Although the Alex Karp-led venture has managed to secure enviable revenue growth and strategic partnerships, Palantir’s high valuation (even relative to other growth stocks in the tech sector) is a perennial pain point. Wall Street equity researchers tend to agree — with the average price target for Palantir stock equating to a significant downside.
That’s not to say that the bearish view is universal — one of the most renowned tech analysts has doubled down on his bullish outlook, setting a Street-high price target for PLTR stock.
Dan Ives sees Palantir stock hitting $90 on commercial business revenue
On January 22, Dan Ives of Wedbush, a long-time Palantir bull, reiterated a prior ‘Outperform’ rating on PLTR shares and increased his price target from $75 to $90. If met, Ives’ price forecast would equate to a 19.03% upside from current prices.
The move reflects growing confidence in the company’s AI strategy and a belief that it should be a core winner in the trillions of AI spend over the next few years, as covered by Bloomberg tech reporter Ryan Vlastelica and posted by Christian Fromhertz in a January 22 post on social media platform X.
In a note shared with investors, Ives further clarified that Wedbush believes Wall Street is underestimating the $1 billion+ revenue stream that the company’s U.S. commercial business can evolve into over the next few years.
Elsewhere, Palantir also stands to benefit from Project Stargate — the recently announced $500 billion AI infrastructure project aimed at securing leadership in the field for the United States. In addition, the U.S. Army is considering recompeting its $22 billion Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) production contract with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) in February — a contract that Palantir is well-positioned to bid for.
While these recent developments are doubtlessly bullish for Palantir, no business can escape its fundamentals forever. For PLTR stock to keep trading at its current level, let alone sustain its upward momentum, continually outperforming already high expectations is a necessity — and that’s quite a tall order.
Featured image via Shutterstock
