Key Takeaways
- Shares of Palantir climbed 15% throughout the trading week, finishing at $157.16 on Friday—the strongest weekly gain since August
- Military action against Iran sparked heightened investor demand for defense technology equities, positioning Palantir as a key beneficiary
- Approximately 60% of Palantir’s total revenue comes from government contracts, with its systems utilized in Iranian military operations
- Rosenblatt Securities lifted its price objective to $200 while Piper Sandler maintains a $230 valuation
- Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic created uncertainty around Palantir’s AI collaborations, though experts suggest viable substitutes are available
Shares of Palantir ($PLTR) delivered exceptional performance during a week when most technology stocks faltered. The defense analytics firm concluded Friday’s session at $157.16, representing a daily increase of roughly 2.9% and a weekly surge of 15%—marking its most impressive weekly advance since last August.
Palantir Technologies Inc., PLTR
The broader technology sector painted a contrasting picture. The Nasdaq Composite index declined 1.2% during the same period, pressured by weakness in Apple, Google, and Micron. Simultaneously, crude oil prices jumped higher, while February employment data revealed unexpected job losses in the U.S. economy.
Palantir defied market trends as traders concentrated on escalating U.S.-Iran tensions. The company derives approximately 60% of its total revenue from government-related business, and has been expanding its footprint across military and intelligence organizations.
The company’s Maven Smart System delivers artificial intelligence functionality, including weapons targeting capabilities, to U.S. armed forces. Reports indicate these technologies played a role in recent Iranian operations. In 2024, Palantir secured a substantial $10 billion Army contract.
President Trump’s public statements suggest the conflict may persist, encouraging defense-oriented investors to continue accumulating PLTR shares throughout the trading week.
Wall Street Increases Price Projections
Rosenblatt Securities maintained its buy recommendation on PLTR while elevating its price objective to $200 from $150. The research firm stated that Middle East tensions create favorable conditions for Palantir’s government business development and could generate additional large-scale military contracts.
Piper Sandler confirmed its overweight stance and kept its $230 valuation unchanged. Citigroup holds a buy rating with a $260 target. According to MarketBeat’s analyst consensus data, the average recommendation sits at “Moderate Buy” with a mean price target of $192.68.
UBS upgraded PLTR from neutral to buy during the week, although it reduced its target to $150.
The company’s most recent quarterly results, announced February 2, exceeded Wall Street projections. Palantir delivered $0.25 in earnings per share compared to the $0.23 consensus forecast and generated $1.41 billion in revenue, representing 70% year-over-year growth. Net profit margin reached 36.31%.
Pentagon’s Anthropic Ban Creates Uncertainty
A potential headwind emerged this week when the Pentagon added Anthropic to its blacklist of prohibited government suppliers. The parties were unable to reconcile differences regarding AI model usage in autonomous weapons systems and domestic surveillance applications.
A November 2024 partnership between Palantir, Amazon Web Services, and Anthropic was designed to integrate Claude AI models within defense and intelligence frameworks. Anthropic had previously won a $200 million Defense Department contract and became the first AI company to deploy models on classified government networks.
Palantir has not issued public commentary regarding its strategy following the Anthropic blacklisting. Rosenblatt analysts noted that “adequate alternatives” to Claude models exist in the marketplace. Piper Sandler took a more measured stance, suggesting that sourcing replacement AI capabilities will consume time that could otherwise support expansion initiatives.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei announced in a Thursday blog post that he has “no choice” but to pursue legal action against the Pentagon’s decision.
The stock received additional momentum from a broader software sector recovery. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF jumped nearly 8% for the week. CrowdStrike, ServiceNow, and AppLovin each posted gains exceeding 15%.
Palantir’s 50-day moving average currently sits at $156.11. The company commands a market capitalization of approximately $375.9 billion, trading at a P/E ratio of 249.
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