Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. The data analysis company was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 index in 2024 — with a 379.68% return over that time period.
That was far from a foregone conclusion — for a long time, institutional investors were quite skeptical of the Alex Karp-led venture on account of its high valuation and seeming overreliance on government contracts. Those concerns never really faded away — instead, a string of impressive earnings calls and a strong upward trajectory in terms of price finally won out over the drawbacks.
At press time on January 24, Palantir stock was trading at a price of $81.30 — having rallied by 7.49% since the start of 2025.
With the forward price to earnings (PE) ratio of the business at 149.55, far above even high-growth peers and rivals in the tech sector, the stock is trading at an extremely high multiple. Elsewhere, key company insiders have dumped more than $40 million worth of Palantir stock since the beginning of the year.
Despite the strong performance seen in 2024, Wall Street equity researchers have remained quite bearish on Palantir stock — and project a significant downside for it in 2025.
Wall Street analysts turn bearish on Palantir stock
In total, 18 equity researchers track PLTR stock and issue ratings for it, per TipRanks. It remains a consensus ‘Moderate Sell’, with 9 ‘Buy’ ratings and 7 ‘Sell’ ratings. However, half of all the analysts covering Palantir — 9, to be exact, rate it a ‘Hold’.
While that might not sound particularly bearish, the average price target for PLTR shares sits at just $49.27 — a figure that equates to a 39.39% downside from current prices.
The Street high price target of $90 comes from Wedbush analyst Dan Ives — a notable tech bull, who reiterated an ‘Outperform’ rating on January 22.
Ives believes that Palantir will benefit greatly from Project Stargate, a $500 billion infrastructure project recently announced by the Trump administration.
Finally, and perhaps most worryingly, Mad Money host and former hedge fund manager Jim Cramer gave the AI company a resounding endorsement on January 23, stating that ‘Nothing can stop Palantir, nothing.’
We’ll leave it up to our readers to determine whether that constitutes a bullish signal or a bearish one.
Featured image via Shutterstock
