Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) stock rose 4.5% overnight as it expanded its collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Better known as PwC, it is a professional services and accounting firm. PwC is also a member of the “Big Four,” one of the four largest international accounting firms.
Under the deal, PwC will use Palantir’s Foundry and Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) to help its clients identify strategies for improving operations.
Palantir opened this morning at about $15.50, a market capitalization of $33.6 billion.
Swords Into Plowshares
The PwC announcement is just the latest indication Palantir may be gaining traction as it tries to turn technology originally sold for the military to civilian uses. In recent weeks, Palantir has announced deals with a Houston-based asset management firm and an Italian medical foundation.
Palantir is also closing in on a major contract with Britain’s National Health Service. That contract alone could be worth $580 million over five years.
Palantir is now profitable, with annual revenues of $2.2 billion. But its market cap is 15 times that.
PLTR stock sold for as much as $35 per share after it came public in 2021. But it was selling for $6.40 early this year when Palantir began selling its database applications as an “artificial intelligence” system. The hype around generative AI tripled its value before the recent rise in interest rates hit it.
Palantir’s bulls compare the company to Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), insisting huge growth lies ahead. They say its generative AI capabilities are better than those of ChatGPT, considered the market leader. CEO Alex Karp says the company is “delivering” on the promises of the AI hype cycle.
But bears like fellow InvestorPlace contributor Chris MacDonald call Palantir overvalued, with marginal profits and year-over-year growth of just 13%. Fintel reports just 8% of the stock is held short, but 53% of the volume off the exchanges is short.
PLTR Stock: What Happens Next?
Palantir will continue to grow, and analysts will continue to argue about the price of that growth. PLTR stock trades well above any fundamental value. Then again, so does NVDA.
As of this writing, Dana Blankenhorn held a LONG position in NVDA. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
