4 Things Palantir Investors Missed This Week

The latest advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have been creating a lot of buzz since the beginning of last year. The ability of these state-of-the-art algorithms to create original content, streamline processes, and increase productivity has companies competing worldwide to capture their share of the resulting profits.

One company uniquely positioned to take advantage of these secular headwinds is Palantir Technologies (PLTR 1.00%). His decades of experience in AI development have helped the company move toward embracing the demand for generative AI, and the move has been a boon for Palantir and its shareholders. Indeed, the stock is up 477% since the start of 2023, fueled by improving results and the company’s expansion opportunity.

Over the past week, good news has come fast and furious for Palantir. With so much going on, investors may not have caught all of the recent developments. Here are four things Palantir investors may have missed this week.

Image source: Getty Images.

1. Expanding the relationship with Nebraska Medicine

To kick off the week, Palantir announced the expansion of its pioneering partnership with Nebraska Medicine to advance healthcare using artificial intelligence, resulting in a new multi-year, multi-million dollar contract.

Nebraska Medicine is an early adopter of Palantir’s artificial intelligence program (AIP) and has “implemented more than ten applications of AIP, improving patient throughput, expanding claims reimbursements and better monitoring patient care.” He noted that AIP helped the health system develop a new workflow in less than six weeks, with additional findings in just 90 minutes.

One example is the improvements to Nebraska Medicine’s Discharge Lounge, which has seen a 2,000%+ increase in usage. This reduced the time it took to discharge patients by an hour on average, freeing up bed space for other patients.

2. A strong vote of confidence

Analysts at Bank of America (BofA) Securities has added Palantir to its US 1 company list. To be listed, a stock must be listed in the US, have a buy rating and be covered by the investment bank’s equity research analysts. The stock must also have an average daily trading volume of $5 million over the past six months. The listing is intended to represent BofA the best investment ideas.

Analysts cited Palantir’s revolutionary Warp-Speed ​​platform, which was designed to integrate various aspects of production systems. It combines elements of enterprise resource planning (ERP), manufacturing execution systems (MES), product lifecycle management (PLM), programmable logic controllers (PLCs) for factory automation, and even input from factory workers .

Analysts described it as “a tool that could transform the American industrial base,” leading to its inclusion on the list.

3. Extending the Maven Smart system

Palantir announced that it has been awarded a contract by the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory to expand its Maven intelligent system across all branches of the military service, including the US Army, Air Force, Space Force, Navy and Marine Corps. Maven is an AI-based targeting tool that is part of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency’s Maven AI framework. Palantir said it acts as “connective tissue” between ground troops, battlefield sensors, hardware and software.

The fixed-price contract could be worth up to $99.8 million over the next five years and will improve the artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities of the military services.

4. Joining the S&P 500

Finally, Friday marked the last day of trading before Palantir joined S&P 500. S&P is the country’s most recognized benchmark of the 500 largest US companies. Therefore, it is also seen as the best indicator of overall stock market performance.

Palantir will be added to the prestigious index when the market opens on Monday and is one of 11 companies to join its ranks so far this year.

There is a strict set of criteria to be added to the S&P 500, and Palantir passed with flying colors.

While this might seem trivial, Bank of America analyst Mariana Pérez Mora calls it a “watershed moment.” The analyst believes there is a “fundamental misunderstanding” about Palantir, and adding it to the widely watched index will force institutional investors to rethink what they think they know about the AI ​​pioneer. A better understanding of what Palantir does and the fundamental opportunity that lies ahead could help clear up those misunderstandings, boost demand and boost the stock price.

That’s why the analyst maintains a buy rating and a $50 price target on Palantir stock, which represents 34% upside potential — despite its already 477% gains since the start of last year.

Given the trajectory of the business, the vast opportunity and consistent management execution, I think the price target will end up being conservative.