Why This Palantir Analyst Says Stock Is A 'Unicorn' That Could Double In 1 Year

Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR was initiated with a Strong Buy rating with a $20 price target Thursday from Raymond James, which called the software company a “cultural unicorn." Here's what you need to know. 

The Palantir Story: Palantir, the big-data analytics company, opened its doors in 2003. It took the company 13 years to build its revenues to $500 million.

In 2018, by building a sales force coupled with other favorable factors, Palantir nearly doubled its revenue, significantly altering the growth trajectory of the company.

A “unicorn” in venture capital usually describes a private entity with a value of more than $1 billion. The RayJay analysts made clear they see Palantir as a "cultural unicorn," citing its refusal to work with other governments. 

"In this case, we see Palantir as a cultural unicorn, almost mythical, because we can’t think of many multibillion-dollar tech franchises that reject the Chinese market or rebuff China as a low-cost source of labor/manufacturing.”

Palantir’s co-founder Jon Lonsdale told Yahoo! Finance at the company IPO in 2020 that he’s “very proud that Palantir is sticking to working with America and America’s interests.”

Related Link: Palantir Breaks Trend To Indicate Larger Reversal: Here's What To Watch

PLTR Stock Performance: Speaking of the 2020 IPO, shares have returned to near-IPO levels after more than two years of stellar performance, after being swept up in the 2020 tech boom that rose the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite 133% from pandemic lows to pandemic highs.

Palantir are up more than 17.9% this week — with the entire tech sector being dragged up by Netflix Inc NFLX, which is trading more than 23% higher this week on the heels of better-than-expected earnings.

RayJay said it expects Palantir to grow sales to $1.98 billion in 2022, and $3.22 billion by 2024, saying the company has significant growth opportunities and compelling competitive advantages.

Shares of Palantir are trading 3.51% higher at $10.48 Thursday afternoon, according to Benzinga Pro.