Many companies in the center of the AI revolution have seen their stock prices soar in the last three years.
These two companies have produced very strong operating results.
But their stock prices have outpaced their financial growth, leading to sky-high valuations.
10 stocks we like better than Palantir Technologies ›
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become one of the biggest talking points for businesses over the last few years. The number of S&P 500 companies mentioning “AI” on their earnings call climbed from less than 75 in 2022 to 241 during the first quarter, according to FactSet Insight.
A handful of companies have built big businesses around demand for artificial intelligence, or integrated AI to rapidly expand their addressable markets. Many of those companies have seen their stock prices soar over the last few years.
But not every high-flying AI stock is worth buying after a massive run up in its price. Wall Street analysts have soured on two of the strongest performers over the last few years. Some analysts now see tremendous downsides ahead.
Here are two AI stocks that could plummet over the next year, according to select Wall Street analysts.
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Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) has been one of the best-performing stocks over the last few years. Since the start of 2023, the stock price has climbed an eye-popping 2,290%, and it now trades with a market cap exceeding $350 billion, as of this writing.
But multiple analysts think the stock has climbed too far, too fast. Just seven analysts covering the stock rate it a buy or the equivalent. Seventeen say to hold it, and Palantir has four sell ratings. The lowest price target on the Street is RBC’s Rishi Jaluria, who has a $40 price target on the stock, a 74% drop from its current price.
The reason for the low price target isn’t lack of financial results. Palantir has seen its revenue grow substantially over the last few years, as it expands its addressable market through its Artificial Intelligence Platform, or AIP. The new platform makes it easier for users to interact with the big data software and find useful business insights and help make decisions. That’s expanded the use cases for Palantir’s software, especially as businesses generate more and more data. As a result, Palantir’s U.S. commercial revenue has climbed quickly, including a 71% increase in the first quarter.
Moreover, Palantir has exhibited tremendous operating leverage. Instead of focusing on marketing and sales, CEO Alex Karp has put most of Palantir’s manpower into building a better product. The idea is a better product will do the selling for itself. As a result, adjusted operating margin climbed to 44% in the first quarter, up from 36% in the first quarter last year.