Why Palantir Stock Is Ripping Higher Today

Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR shares are trading higher Tuesday after the data software company reported strong first-quarter results and said it expects to remain profitable in each quarter of 2023. Commentary surrounding demand for its new AI platform and analyst adjustments also appear to be driving the stock higher.

Q1 Earnings: Palantir said first-quarter revenue increased 18% year-over-year to $525 million, which beat average analyst estimates of $505.6 million, according to Benzinga Pro. The data software company reported quarterly earnings of 5 cents per share, which beat consensus estimates of 4 cents per share.

U.S. revenue grew 23% year-over-year. Commercial revenue was up 15%, and government revenue climbed 20%. Palantir's total customer count increased 41% year-over-year. U.S customers jumped 50%. 

Cash flow from operations totaled $187 million on 36% margins. The company ended the quarter with $2.9 billion in cash, equivalents and short-term U.S. treasury securities.

"We were profitable again this quarter... And we now anticipate that we will remain profitable each quarter through the end of the year," said Alex Karp, co-founder and CEO of Palantir.

"The depth of engagement with and demand for our new Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) is without precedent."

Outlook: Palantir expects second-quarter revenue to be between $528 million and $532 million versus estimates of $536.2 million. The company sees full-year revenue in a range of $2.185 billion to $2.235 billion versus estimates of $2.2 billion.

Analyst Assessment: 

• Jefferies analyst Brent Thill maintained Palantir with a Hold and raised the price target from $8.5 to $10.
• Deutsche Bank analyst Brad Zelnick maintained Palantir with a Sell and raised the price target from $6 to $7.
• Goldman Sachs analyst Gabriela Borges maintained Palantir with a Neutral and raised the price target from $8 to $9.

PLTR Price Action: Palantir has a 52-week high of $11.61 and a 52-week low of $5.84.

Palantir shares were up 16% at $8.98 at the time of writing, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Cory Doctorow from Flickr.