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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 gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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