Analysts Adjust Palantir Price Targets Post Q3 Results

  • Few analysts slashed price targets on Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR despite the Q3 beat.
  • RBC Capital analyst Rishi Jaluria downgraded to Underperform from Sector Perform with a price target of $19, down from $25, implying a 17% downside. 
  • The analyst cites the company's "mixed" Q3 results with deceleration in the government business while noting that its commercial acceleration that is being fueled by SPAC investments is "unsustainable." 
  • Jaluria adds that his confidence in Palantr's 30% growth is reduced, and he sees the stock's valuation as "full."
  • William Blair analyst Kamil Mielczarek says Palantir revenues decelerated in the quarter to 36% year-over-year, down from 49% in the first half of 2021. 
  • While Palantir delivered "strong" headline numbers, the growth in the second half of 2021 is "heavily reliant on strategic investments." 
  • The analyst remains concerned about the business's ability to maintain 30% organic growth over the near term and keeps an Underperform rating on Palantir.
  • Citi analyst Tyler Radke states Palantir's decelerating growth "came into center view" in Q3 with weakness in both commercial and government.
  • While guidance for Q4 was issued slightly ahead of the Street, it still implies slower growth, even on an easier comparison and with significant tailwinds from SPAC-related customer contracting. 
  • He reiterates a Sell rating on the shares with an $18 price target.
  • Wolfe Research analyst Alex Zukin lowered the price target to $20 from $25, and maintained a Peer Perform following what he calls an "interesting" Q3 report. 
  • He notes that shares were down after the announcement, which he blames a "meaningful top-line deceleration," pointing out that total revenues, ex. SPAC-contributions of $373 million grew 29% year-over-year, which Zukin said is up only less than $1 million sequentially from Q2. 
  • His lower price target is due to the core growth deceleration as he is "not yet comfortable assigning a similar confidence interval and multiple to SPAC-based commercial revenue."
  • Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss raised the price target to $24 from $22, implying a 4% upside.
  • He reiterated an Underweight after delivering another beat versus consensus expectations "across all key headline metrics" in Q3. 
  • Weiss sees "signs of slowing underneath the hood" as a slowdown in core revenue and commercial growth, coupled with a sharper slowdown in the government segment, which opens up the debate on the durability of Palantir's growth.
  • Price Action: PLTR shares traded lower by 5.6% at $22.9 on the last check Wednesday.
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