Palantir Technologies (PLTR) shares rose in premarket trading on October 8 after Goldman Sachs upgraded the defense and enterprise AI software company to Buy from Neutral, setting a $230 price target that implied about 18% upside from Wednesday's close. Analyst Gabriela Borges cited potential expansion in Palantir's total addressable market through sovereign AI, bespoke applications, and verticalization, as well as the company's forward-deployed engineering model.
On October 9, the stock briefly climbed above $200, reaching an intraday high of $204.44 before sellers pushed it back to close at $198.78, still up 2.4% from the prior session. The shares remained below their record high of $207.52.
The upgrade arrived after Palantir reported second-quarter revenue of $1.94 billion, up 93% year over year and above analyst expectations of about $1.81 billion. Adjusted earnings were $0.41 per share, compared with estimates of $0.35. U.S. commercial revenue grew 149% to $764 million, while U.S. government revenue rose 90% to $809 million. The company recorded 220 customer deals worth at least $1 million each and raised its full-year 2026 revenue outlook to between $8.15 billion and $8.158 billion.
Despite the bullish call, valuation concerns persisted. Palantir trades at more than 50 times projected 2026 revenue, and Jefferies has warned that high expectations leave limited room for weaker future results. Separate analyst Dan Ives assigned a $250 price target and described a potential $4 trillion AI spending cycle, but the broader technology sector faced selling pressure following a report on OpenAI's annualized revenue estimates.
