Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) Stake Boosted by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,345 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,596 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Palantir Technologies were worth $2,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in Palantir Technologies by 74.9% in the 3rd quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in Palantir Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Palantir Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in Palantir Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc acquired a new position in Palantir Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. 45.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Palantir Technologies Price Performance

Shares of PLTR traded up $0.78 on Friday, reaching $23.33. 55,976,409 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 32,383,440. Palantir Technologies Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.28 and a 12 month high of $27.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $23.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.22. The firm has a market cap of $51.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 259.25, a P/E/G ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 2.76.

Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.01). Palantir Technologies had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 6.17%. The business had revenue of $608.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $603.48 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Palantir Technologies Inc. will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palantir Technologies

In related news, insider Ryan D. Taylor sold 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.00, for a total transaction of $2,640,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 181,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,992,120. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Ryan D. Taylor sold 150,000 shares of Palantir Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.00, for a total value of $3,600,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 181,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,355,040. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Ryan D. Taylor sold 120,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.00, for a total value of $2,640,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 181,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,992,120. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,476,273 shares of company stock valued at $184,783,602 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on PLTR. Citigroup raised shares of Palantir Technologies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $10.00 to $20.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Palantir Technologies from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Palantir Technologies from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Palantir Technologies from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $13.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt raised Palantir Technologies from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.35.

About Palantir Technologies

Palantir Technologies Inc builds and deploys software platforms for the intelligence community to assist in counterterrorism investigations and operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company provides Palantir Gotham, a software platform which enables users to identify patterns hidden deep within datasets, ranging from signals intelligence sources to reports from confidential informants, as well as facilitates the handoff between analysts and operational users, helping operators plan and execute real-world responses to threats that have been identified within the platform.