NEW YORK, January 2, 2026, 04:55 ET — Premarket
- Palantir Technologies shares fell 1.7% in premarket trading to $177.75.
- Wedbush analyst Dan Ives reiterated a $230 price target, pointing to strong demand for the company’s AI platform.
- Traders are watching a packed early-January macro calendar and an unconfirmed early-February earnings window.
Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR.O) shares fell 1.7% to $177.75 in premarket trading on Friday. Premarket is trading before the 9:30 a.m. ET opening bell, when liquidity can be thinner.
The move came as a new year opened with a firmer tone across broader markets, with S&P 500 futures up 0.6% and Nasdaq futures up 1% as investors weighed whether the AI-led rally of 2025 can hold up to policy and data shocks. Traders have priced in a 15% chance of a U.S. rate cut this month and expect two more cuts this year, while a backlog of U.S. economic releases delayed by the government shutdown is due soon and could reset those bets.
That backdrop matters for Palantir because high-growth software stocks tend to move sharply when interest-rate expectations shift. Investors start 2026 trying to separate durable AI revenue growth from momentum trades that were fueled by easy money and fear of missing out.
A bullish sell-side call also landed late this week. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives reiterated a $230 price target for Palantir in a note spotlighting five AI-focused names for 2026, and wrote: “Demand for Palantir’s Artificial Intelligence Platform remains ‘unprecedented’.” Business Insider
On the charts, Palantir is sitting below its 50-day moving average — a technical indicator that smooths the last 50 closing prices to track short-term trend — at about $181. The stock’s 200-day moving average, a longer-term trend gauge, stood near $168.89, while the company’s market value was about $424 billion, MarketBeat data showed.
For technical-focused investors, reclaiming the 50-day line can signal stabilizing momentum. Slipping toward — or through — the 200-day average often draws in sellers who use trend signals to manage risk.
Macro headlines are also back in the driver’s seat. A U.S. jobs report is due on January 9, commodity indexes are set to rebalance starting January 8, and OPEC+ meets on Sunday, while policy risks include a pending U.S. Supreme Court tariff ruling and an expected announcement of a new Federal Reserve chair, Reuters’ weekly “Take Five” noted. Reuters
The next company-specific catalyst is earnings. Wall Street Horizon currently lists Palantir’s next report as unconfirmed for February 2 after the close, based on its forecast methodology and the company’s historical cadence.
When that date is confirmed, investors will look for any change in guidance and for evidence that demand for Palantir’s AI software is translating into sustained revenue growth and margins. The tone around government versus commercial momentum will likely matter as much as the headline numbers.
