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Palantir continues its recent bull run as BofA analyst hikes target to $215

Palantir was less than 3% from its all-time closing high price in early trading Tuesday, with shares continuing a run that has carried them up nearly 20% since a recent low on September 5.

There’s no major news on the stock, but the defense and AI software company did collect a price target hike from Bank of America’s analysts. They slapped a $215 price objective on the shares, a roughly 18% premium to where the stock currently trades and the highest among the published price targets tracked by FactSet.

In their note, BofA’s analysts focused on the company’s usage of “forward deployed engineers” or FDEs, Palantir software workers who collaborate closely with clients to help organize, refine, structure, and connect the various pipelines of data that companies want to work with Palantir’s AI software. (I recently wrote a bit about them here.)

BofA’s stock scribes wrote:

“We see the AI FDEs as an accelerator of growth. By successfully implementing these breakthrough capabilities inhouse, the company will benefit from increased demand, scalability and empowered engineers that can focus on the most complex problems. We think more customers will be attracted to buy Palantir’s operating system (vs build their own) to accelerate the implementation of AI agents that extend their own unique abilities and core expertise. Additionally, these AI FDEs will allow Palantir engineers and the customers themselves to continue to create new use cases.”

In their note, BofA’s analysts focused on the company’s usage of “forward deployed engineers” or FDEs, Palantir software workers who collaborate closely with clients to help organize, refine, structure, and connect the various pipelines of data that companies want to work with Palantir’s AI software. (I recently wrote a bit about them here.)

BofA’s stock scribes wrote:

“We see the AI FDEs as an accelerator of growth. By successfully implementing these breakthrough capabilities inhouse, the company will benefit from increased demand, scalability and empowered engineers that can focus on the most complex problems. We think more customers will be attracted to buy Palantir’s operating system (vs build their own) to accelerate the implementation of AI agents that extend their own unique abilities and core expertise. Additionally, these AI FDEs will allow Palantir engineers and the customers themselves to continue to create new use cases.”

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SpaceX reportedly files confidentially for IPO

SpaceX confidentially filed its draft IPO paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter, the next step toward what is expected to be a blockbuster summer listing.

Elon Musk’s satellite and rocket company could raise around $75 billion in an IPO that would value it at more than $1.75 trillion — both records — though the exact amounts won’t be settled until it goes public, likely in June.

Another notable thing about this IPO: the portion of shares committed to individual investors is expected to be much higher than in traditional IPOs — per Reuters, up to 30%, versus the typical 10% — a move that could broaden retail participation in one of the most anticipated public offerings ever.

Another notable thing about this IPO: the portion of shares committed to individual investors is expected to be much higher than in traditional IPOs — per Reuters, up to 30%, versus the typical 10% — a move that could broaden retail participation in one of the most anticipated public offerings ever.

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Energy stocks tumble after massive March

Energy and chemical stocks tumbled early Wednesday on growing expectations that the US participation in the Iran war is nearing an end, and West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures slipped back below $100 a barrel.

LyondellBasell, APA Corporation, Dow, Inc., CF Industries, and Marathon Petroleum — the S&P 500’s top 5 gainers last month — all sank.

Natural gas drillers EOG Resources, Devon Energy, Coterra Energy, and Diamondback Energy dropped, as did integrated oil giants Exxon and Chevron. Fuel refiners and marketers such as Phillips 66 and Valero also fell.

Don’t shed too many tears for these energy giants; the S&P 500 energy sector rose 10% in March and 37% in Q1 2026.

The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund is coming off its second-best quarter on record relative to the SPDR S&P 500 ETF, based on data going back to 1999.

Nio, Li Auto rise as Q1 delivery totals beat internal guidance

China’s EV startup trio — Nio, Li Auto, and XPeng — are all climbing on Wednesday, following the release of March and first-quarter delivery totals.

Nio delivered 83,465 vehicles in the three months that ended in March, up 99% from the same quarter a year ago and slightly beating the upper end of its guidance. Li Auto delivered 95,142 vehicles in the period, up 2.5% and ahead of its guidance range. The figure was bolstered by 12% growth in March deliveries.

XPeng, on the other hand, saw Q1 deliveries drop 33% year over year to 62,682 vehicles — the company’s first quarterly drop since 2023. Shares are still up as of 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, as the automaker’s March deliveries were up 80% from February’s total.

BYD is down more than 2% on Wednesday, as the automaker posted its seventh consecutive month of sales declines. First-quarter sales fell 30% year over year, Reuters reported.

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