The week got off to a bad start for Palantir (PLTR) investors; Shares hit the down button in Monday’s trading after the big data specialist delivered a disappointing Q2 report.
It wasn’t all bad, though. In the second quarter, Palantir generated revenue of $473.0 million, amounting to a 26% year-over-year increase and beating the Street’s $471.3 million forecast. The beat driven by a strong showing from the commercial segment where revenue increased by 46%. The commercial customer count rose by 250% from the same period last year – from 34 customers to 119. The company has been heavily reliant on government work so these are promising developments.
However, other metrics weren’t quite as pleasing. The company delivered adj. EPS of -$0.01, falling short of the $0.03 anticipated on Wall Street.
And the outlook missed expectations too; for Q3, revenue is expected to come in between $474 million to $475 million, some distance below the consensus estimate of $505.56 million. Revenue for the full-year is expected be in the range between between $1.9 billion and $1.902 billion. Wall Street was looking for $1.98 billion.
Tuning into the earnings call, Monness analyst Brian White noted the downbeat mood.
“The tone of the call was muted with Palantir frustrated with the push out of large U.S. government programs and the negative impact this delay is expected to have on the company’s financial performance in the second half of the year,” the 5-star analyst said. “In our view, Palantir is well positioned to benefit from strong secular trends around digital transformation, Big Data, the cloud, and artificial intelligence; however, the economy appears to be in a recession, equity markets are in turmoil, and the geopolitical landscape is unpredictable.”
Accordingly, White remains on the sidelines with a Neutral rating and no fixed price target in mind. (To watch White’s track record, click here)
Most analysts agree with White’s stance; the stock garners 3 Buys and Sells, each, but with 6 Holds, the consensus view is that this name is a Hold. However, going by the $10.75 average price target, shares have room for 12% upside in the year ahead. (See Palantir stock forecast on TipRanks)
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.
