Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR CEO Alex Karp expressed strong support for The Department of Government Efficiency and Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk during a Fox News interview on Thursday, highlighting the growing intersection of technology and government reform.
What Happened: “I wholeheartedly support DOGE, and you cannot have a better person than Musk,” Karp stated, aligning with DOGE co-lead Vivek Ramaswamy‘s efforts for government reform.
The company’s political influence continues to expand, with recent reports suggesting that Palantir’s Chief Technology Officer, Shyam Sankar, is reportedly being considered for the Pentagon’s top research and engineering position under President-elect Donald Trump‘s administration.
This development comes as Palantir’s market value reached $159 billion, surpassing traditional defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp.
The tech giant’s influence extends through its founder Peter Thiel‘s strong ties to both Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance.
Why It Matters: These connections, coupled with Palantir’s recent partnership with Amazon Web Services to provide Anthropic’s Claude AI models to U.S. intelligence agencies, underscore the company’s growing political and technological clout.
Wedbush Securities Managing Director Dan Ives has identified Palantir as a frontrunner in enterprise AI transformation, calling it “the biggest tech trend in the last 40 to 50 years.”
During the interview, Karp emphasized the company’s AI capabilities: “We’ve managed our model in AI so that it actually delivers value—on the battlefield, to bring soldiers home, to kill enemies, or commercially, to change margins.”
The company’s expansion in government contracts and AI partnerships has driven significant growth, with its stock surging 93% since its inclusion in the S&P 500 in September.
Price Action: Palantir stock closed at $71.87 on Thursday, up 2.89% for the day. In after-hours trading, the stock increased by 0.30%. Year to date, Palantir’s stock has surged by 333.47%.
According to data from Benzinga Pro, Palantir has a consensus price target of $30.22, based on 18 analysts. The highest target is $75, and the lowest is $7.50. The recent ratings from BofA, Wedbush, and Goldman Sachs suggest an average target of $63.67, implying an 11.68% downside.
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Palantir CEO Alex Karp. Photo by WEF on Flickr
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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