BUZZ-PREVIEW: Palantir hovers near record highs heading into results

Shares of Palantir Technologies PLTR.O trading around the flat line on Mon with data analytics firm slated to report Q4 results after the bell, as investors eye its towering valuation

PLTR shares fell as much as 4.9% earlier in the session amid a broad market slide .N

The stock has bounced ~30% off its Jan lows, and on Fri notched record high close of $82.49 after touching intraday all-time peak of $85.22

With a 340% surge in 2024, PLTR shares finished at the top of the S&P 500 leader board

Last year, PLTR hiked its annual rev forecast three times on the back of booming demand for generative AI

For the Dec qtr, analysts on avg calling for rev to grow ~28% y/y to $775.9 mln and adj EPS of 11 cents vs 8 cents in yr-ago period, per LSEG

Jefferies, which rates PLTR 'underperform' ($28 PT), said in recent preview note the Q4 setup will be challenging as co is lapping easy comps

“With Palantir trading at a significant premium to its peers, we believe any signs of decelerating growth could cause concern and subsequently lead to multiple compression,” Jefferies analyst Brent Thill wrote

Though Wedbush earlier last month boosted its PT to $90, which is tied for highest on Wall Street

Still, the median PT of $44 implies roughly 50% downside to current levels and the avg rating among 21 brokerages covering the stock is "hold"

PLTR is currently trading at nearly 170x forward earnings vs its 2-yr avg of 75, according to LSEG