Palantir CEO Alex Karp (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Getty Images)

GameStop short seller targets Palantir

“There’s never been a company that has that type of multiple or that type of P/E that’s not corrected 50%,” Citron Research’s Andrew Left said.

Matt Phillips

8/14/25 12:11PM

Short seller Andrew Left, of Citron Research, spotlighted Palantir’s seemingly absurd valuation in a television appearance Wednesday, suggesting that the retail momentum favorite — the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 this year — could be set up for a serious stumble.

“If this was the greatest company that was ever created and we gave it the same multiples as, let’s say, Nvidia in 2023, the stock still can get cut by two-thirds,” Left said during an appearance on Fox Business, adding that he is shorting the defense data and AI software company as part of a diversified portfolio.

Left is perhaps best known for being one of the short sellers whose bets against GameStop made him a handy foil for individual traders who rallied around the video game retailer’s shares back in 2021.

His issue with Palantir largely comes down to the company’s market valuation, which we — and many others — have previously spotlighted as downright absurd, dwarfing even the most optimistic valuations ever placed on tech giants, even those that actually became some of the greatest money machines in the history of capitalism.

But Palantir’s market multiples have only seemed to get more absurd, especially after it delivered a great Q2 earnings report earlier this month that received rave reviews from analysts.

Left acknowledged that valuation is a terrible tool for marking a turn in market prices, especially for a stock with this much retail participation and momentum behind it.

When asked why he thought he was right about shorting the stock, he admitted, “I’m probably not,” adding, “I mean, it could go higher. It’s part of being a short seller.”

Given the dynamics of stocks with heavy retail participation, where the online rallying cry of “squeeze the shorts” can generate a share and options buying binge that could inflict losses on a short, it does seem a bit strange for a short seller to be such an outspoken critic of such a popular company.

For the record, it might be worth taking some of Left’s public statements with a grain of salt.

In July 2024, he was indicted on multiple counts of securities fraud related to what federal prosecutors called a long-running “market manipulation scheme.” According to the indictment, “While Left made false representations to the public to bolster his credibility, behind the scenes, Left allegedly took contrary trading positions to reap quick profits off the stocks he either promoted or pilloried.”

Last month, Left’s legal request to dismiss the investigation — which argued he was the victim of selective prosecution by a government that sought to suppress his free speech rights — was denied.

That being said, the short seller also has some impressive career wins, including a short report on once-upon-a-time pharma juggernaut Valeant Pharmaceuticals that was followed by the shares losing over 90% of their value and the company ultimately changing its name.

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The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Russell 2000 close at record highs again as Strait of Hormuz is declared open

Stocks reached new record highs as risk-on sentiment flooded back into the markets, while oil tumbled.

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With their recent surge, Intel shares just hit their highest level since the dot-com era

Intel’s surge of nearly 60% this month has the iconic American chipmaker’s stock price approaching levels last seen during the dot-com era. Bloomberg noted that shares just touched their highest intraday level since the turn of the century:

“The stock rose as much as 1.5% to $69.55, topping a peak it hit on Jan. 24, 2020. The shares are up 90% this year, after soaring 84% in 2025. Intel is now roughly 8% from its all-time closing high of $74.88, established on Aug. 31, 2000.”

That’s just the most recent late-’90s-era throwback we’ve been seeing in tech shares lately. Oracle is currently pacing for its best week since late 1999.

What’s even more remarkable, however, is that Intel’s forward price-to-earnings ratio today dwarfs the premiums the market was putting on the stock during the nuttiness of the dot-com mania.

That reflects the fact that the recent run-up in Intel shares is, essentially, giving the chip giant credit for a massive turnaround that hasn’t actually happened yet.

One also might wonder if the fact that Intel is partially owned by the US government means it’s more attractive — and therefore worth a higher premium — than other chipmakers without the state imprimatur.

Still, kind of startling.

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Netflix sinks following disappointing outlook as investors wait for more ad growth

Netflix shares are down more than 10% on Friday morning.

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Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 pill hit nearly 1,400 prescriptions in first week

Eli Lilly rose after preliminary numbers cited by Wall Street analysts showed strong uptake of its new weight-loss pill.

The FDA approved Foundayo on April 1 and shipments began on April 9. In its first week, roughly 1,400 US prescriptions were written for the drug, according to IQVIA data cited by Deustche Bank analysts in a Friday note.

Novo Nordisk, Lilly’s rival in the GLP-1 market, released its GLP-1 pill earlier this year, and early signs show that it’s expanding the market, inviting patients who were turned off by weekly injections. Novo’s pill had a stronger first week than Lilly’s, with its Wegovy pill hitting 3,071 US prescriptions in the first four days after its launch on January 5.

Lilly’s pill has an advantage over Novo’s, which is that it can be taken at any time of day, with or without food. Lilly disclosed in a February regulatory filing that it had $1.5 billion worth of prelaunch inventory ready ahead of the FDA approval — which is about as much as analysts polled by FactSet expect it to sell this year.

Eli Lilly makes the world’s bestselling drug. Can it keep the party going?

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Critical Metals jumps after Greenland’s government approves CRML to take majority control of the Tanbreez mining project

Critical Metals is up more than 25% in premarket trading on Friday after the critical mining company announced that it now owns 92.5% of the Tanbreez rare earth deposit following an approval from the government of Greenland.

With that latest government support, Critical Minerals added an additional 50.5% stake to its ownership, reportedly acquired from Rimbal Pty Ltd, per Bloomberg News. With access to eight heavy rare earth elements often used in consumer electronics and defense, the site is one of the world’s largest undeveloped rare earth deposits and a key source of rare earth supply outside of China, according to the company.

In Critical Metals’ press release, Chairman Tony Sage commented that the approval “removes the most significant structural overhang on the project and provides the clarity to advance Tanbreez to production with confidence,” especially as Tanbreez’s location offers a significant logistical advantage through its year-round direct shipping access, compared to rival projects.

With 92.5% of the project now vested in Critical Metals Corp., and the remainder owned by European Lithium Ltd., CRML now has full control of the project and is seeking to accelerate development there, with plans for a new international airport and a “150-tonne bulk sample program,” which is slated for June 2026.