Druckenmiller Back In Palantir Game: Duquesne Rebuys Into AI Play After Year-Long Gap, Slashing Nvidia Stake

Zinger Key Points
  • Duquesne Family Office picked up 769,965 shares of Palantir in the first quarter after holding none of its shares in the previous quarter.
  • The move comes even as the firm substantially reduced its Nvidia stake.

Duquesne Family Office, run by former hedge-fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller, has reopened a position in Palantir Technologies, Inc. PLTR after a year’s hiatus, according to the 13F report filed by the firm with the SEC late Wednesday.

What Happened: Duquesne Family Office picked up 769,965 shares of Palantir in the first quarter, the report revealed. The firm had previously held the stock in its portfolio in the first quarter of 2023 and dumped the entire Palantir holdings the next quarter.

The firm bought Palantir for the first time in the first quarter of 2021, and from then on until the 203-first quarter Palantir was a staple in its portfolio. Here’s how the Palantir holding panned out during the period.

PeriodNumber of Palantir Shares
Q1’24769,965
Q1’23700,707
Q4’221,270,707
Q3’222,421,282
Q2’224,255,412
Q1’223,340,537
Q4’211,632,937
Q3’211,632,937
Q2’214,013,692
Q1’215,983,992
Source: 13F filings

Palantir went public in September 2020. A social media user noted that Duquesne Family Office was among the first to invest in Palantir and sold the shares at $8 apiece. The firm used the proceeds from Palantir sales to steepen its NVIDIA Corp NVDA stake in the second quarter of 2023, he said.

Nvidia shares have run up strongly since then. Druckenmiller’s firm used the run-up to take money off the table. The firm, which held 1,106,994 Nvidia shares at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, sold all but 175,943 shares at the end of the first quarter of 2024.

See Also: Best Artificial Intelligence Stocks

Why It’s Important: Data analytics company Palantir has seen its fundamentals improve ever since it pivoted to AI. The company’s proprietary AI platform, called AIP, has found huge acceptance among customers.

Its first quarter results released earlier this month did not go down well with investors as the revenue guidance came to light. Riding on the strength of the U.S. commercial business, the company reported a revenue beat for the quarter.

Following the quarterly results, Wedbush’s Daniel Ives, a Palantir bull, shrugged off the mixed results. “We are laser-focused on the AI story playing out with AIP leading the way and Palantir delivered robust numbers on this front yet again," Ives said. He also recommended adding to positions on any potential weakness.

In premarket trading on Friday, Palantir stock rose 0.65% to $21.79, according to Benzinga Pro data. The stock has gained 26% year-to-date.

Read Next: Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Confirms Apple Sale, Dumps This PC Maker, Finally Reveals Mystery Stock: Here Are The Portfolio Changes To Know

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