Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR) Shares Down 1.1% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) dropped 1.1% during trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $36.68 and last traded at $36.71. Approximately 16,915,865 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 57,293,305 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.10.

Specifically, Director Peter Thiel sold 4,254,666 shares of Palantir Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.77, for a total value of $156,444,068.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 51,234,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,883,884,291.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Lauren Elaina Friedman Stat sold 6,655 shares of Palantir Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.17, for a total value of $254,021.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 145,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,558,506.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PLTR shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Palantir Technologies from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Northland Securities began coverage on shares of Palantir Technologies in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt dropped their price objective on shares of Palantir Technologies from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Palantir Technologies from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $9.00 target price on shares of Palantir Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.29.

Palantir Technologies Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $82.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 305.94 and a beta of 2.72. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.23.

Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $678.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $653.23 million. Palantir Technologies had a net margin of 16.32% and a return on equity of 8.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.01 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Palantir Technologies Inc. will post 0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Palantir Technologies

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Palantir Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Palantir Technologies during the second quarter worth $25,000. West Paces Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Palantir Technologies by 110.7% during the first quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 1,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Palantir Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in Palantir Technologies by 105.3% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.65% of the company’s stock.

About Palantir Technologies

Palantir Technologies Inc builds and deploys software platforms for the intelligence community to assist in counterterrorism investigations and operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company provides Palantir Gotham, a software platform which enables users to identify patterns hidden deep within datasets, ranging from signals intelligence sources to reports from confidential informants, as well as facilitates the handoff between analysts and operational users, helping operators plan and execute real-world responses to threats that have been identified within the platform.