Palantir Stock Shrugs Off Cramer's Sell Call As $480M AI Contract For Army Fuels Premarket Rally

Palantir Technologies PLTR, a company specializing in data analytics and AI platforms, is riding a wave of new deals. The U.S. Department of Defense added to the momentum on Wednesday by awarding Palantir a new contract.

What Happened: Palantir has been awarded a U.S. Army $480 million fixed, firm-price contract for the Maven Smart System (MSS) prototype, information on the DOD’s website showed. The award was done following the solicitation of a sole bid. The federal agency said work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 28, 2029.

A statement released by the Kentucky National Guard in February said Palantir’s MSS along with National Geospatial Agency Broad Area Search – Targeting uses AI-generated algorithms and memory learning capabilities to scan and identify enemy systems in the Area of Responsibility.

“MAVEN fuses data from various Intelligence Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR) systems to identify areas of interest,” it said, adding that it was not replacing the Intelligence Analyst’s job but speeding up the processes while enhancing workflow and efficiency.

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Why It’s Important: Palantir’s first-quarter results released in early May showed that U.S. government revenue grew 12% year-over-year to $257 million, accounting for 77% of the total government revenue and 40.5% of the total revenue. The company counts the Pentagon as among its major customers.

On Wednesday, Palantir said power management company Eaton announced an expansion to its partnership with Palantir to bring the latter’s Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) to its operations.

A YouTuber, who shared details of the U.S. Army contract on the X platform, said it was awarded close on the heels of CNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer suggesting Palantir’s stock does not qualify as a buy. In the Lightning Round segment of his show, the stock picker said on Tuesday “It's very tough to understand what they [Palantir] really do for the government. So, therefore, I am no longer going to say that that's a stock to own.”

In premarket trading on Thursday, Palantir shares climbed 2.48% to $21.46, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Read Next: Jim Chanos Raises Red Flag On Palantir Stock – But Here’s What Data Suggests

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