NEW YORK, Jan 7, 2026, 15:34 EST — Regular session
- Palantir shares up 1.8% in afternoon trade after a new Buy call from Truist
- Truist target at $223 sits above the Street average target cited by TipRanks
- Investors watch U.S. jobs data on Jan. 9 and Palantir’s next earnings window in early February
Palantir Technologies (PLTR) shares rose 1.8% to $182.98 in late afternoon trading on Wednesday after Truist Securities initiated coverage with a buy rating and a $223 price target. The stock ranged between $177.70 and $187.26, with traders eyeing whether it can stay north of $180 into the close. 1
The fresh call matters because Palantir has turned into a proxy for whether “generative AI” — tools that can produce text, code and images — is moving from pilots to budget lines. It is also a test of how far investors will stretch on valuation when the story is still about growth two or three quarters out.
Truist analyst Arvind Ramnani said GenAI adoption could “compress the market impact” of decades of enterprise technology into the next five to 10 years, and argued Palantir’s Artificial Intelligence Platform, or AIP, gives it an edge in deploying large language models on sensitive data. “We view AIP as a differentiated layer with guardrails built in for sensitive contacts,” Ramnani wrote. TipRanks data cited in the report puts the Street’s average price target at $190.06, while Truist’s $223 target implies about 22% upside from Wednesday’s levels. 2
In a broader 2026 basket call, Ramnani also framed the gap between early AI wins and full rollouts as “latent demand waiting to be unlocked,” as Truist initiated buy ratings on seven GenAI-exposed stocks it sees as best positioned this year. The list included names such as Accenture and Intuit alongside Palantir, underscoring that the firm is pitching the trade as an enterprise adoption cycle rather than a single-company event. 3
There was also insider selling in the background. Director Lauren Elaina Friedman Stat sold 3,400 shares on Jan. 2 at an average price of $181.35, a Form 4 filing showed, under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan — the mechanism executives often use to schedule trades ahead of time. 4
The next big catalyst for the PLTR stock price forecast is earnings. Wall Street Horizon’s calendar pegs Palantir’s next report for Feb. 2 after the market close, though it is listed as unconfirmed by the company; investors will be listening for signs that commercial demand is broadening, margins are holding up, and whether management signals any shift on capital returns or stock-based compensation. 5
Macro could still swing the tape before then. The U.S. jobs report is due on Friday, Jan. 9, and the December CPI report follows on Jan. 13, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics schedule, while the Federal Reserve’s calendar shows a Beige Book release on Jan. 14 and an FOMC meeting on Jan. 27–28. Any surprise that moves rate expectations can hit high-multiple software names quickly. 6
But there is a catch in the upside math. Palantir is priced for momentum, and a stumble — slower deal ramps, lumpier government work, or softer conversion from pilots to production — can compress valuation fast, even if the long-term AI story stays intact.
For now, investors are watching whether Wednesday’s move holds into the close and whether the Truist upgrade draws follow-through ahead of the Feb. 2 earnings window.
