Citron Shorts Palantir, Calls Stock A 'Full Casino'

Citron Research editor and notorious short seller added another name to his holiday short list on Friday.

In a tweet, Left said he has a short position in Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR after the stock has more than tripled from its $10 direct listing price back on Sept. 30. Left is shorting Palantir and with a $20 price target by the end of the year, suggesting more than 50% downside from current levels.

“What a run the past month for all. But as traders looking for short exposure, $PLTR is no longer a stock but a full casino. Does not take a ball of crystal to know this will fall back to Arda,” Left tweeted.

Related Link: Citron Says It's 'Insulting' To Call Blink Charging An EV Stock

Other Short Bets On EV Stocks: His valuation-based short thesis for Palantir is similar to his short thesis for electric vehicle stock Nio Inc - ADR NIO back on Nov. 13. In November 2018, Left compared Nio to Tesla Inc TSLA when Nio was trading at around $7 per share, but he said this month that investors should take profits on the stock after it has gained nearly 2,300% in the past year.

“After a rocky road of trading, NIO has found itself in unchartered territory that can never be justified by its current standing in the China EV market or its near-term prospects,” Left said of Nio.

Left has also recently called Electrameccanica Vehicles Corp SOLO “a complete joke” and EV charging station stock Blink Charging Co BLNK a “total scheme.”

Benzinga’s Take: Short sellers that have focused on fundamental valuation analysis have been getting killed for years now, especially when it comes to betting against EV stocks. The fact that Left specifically mentioned his $20 price target for Palantir is for “2020” suggests it may simply be a short-term bet on a correction rather than a longer-term commentary on the stock.