‘It’s Dramatically Incorrect,’ Says Daniel Ives About Palantir Stock (PLTR)

Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) has been one of the clearest winners of the AI boom, translating real-world demand into strong business momentum and a sharp run-up in its share price. That backdrop, however, is starting to shift. In recent months, the stock has pulled back 38% from last November’s highs, as investors wrestle with its elevated valuation and growing concerns that rapid AI advancements could begin to disrupt parts of the broader software landscape.

The selloff accelerated last week, with shares shedding 12%, pressured by Anthropic’s release of Claude Managed Agents, a product aimed at simplifying the creation and deployment of production-ready AI agents, including advanced multi-agent orchestration. At the same time, ‘Big Short’ investor Michael Burry raised concerns that Anthropic’s ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) is growing faster than Palantir’s.

So, how much is this a threat to Palantir’s business?

Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives acknowledges that Anthropic’s growth has been very impressive. The company is scaling rapidly, reaching $30 billion in ARR, up from $9 billion at the beginning of the year. However, Ives believes this growth is not coming at the expense of Palantir’s business, which continues to show strong momentum across both segments, with its U.S. commercial business growing 137% year over year and its U.S. government segment accelerating to 66% growth.

“We acknowledge the growth from Anthropic is unprecedented, but we believe the take that Anthropic is eating PLTR’s lunch is the wrong take and a fictional narrative (in our view) as Palantir is at the epicenter of leaders in the AI Revolution while its AIP product moat remains unmatched in our view,” the analyst said. “The data-driven moat by Palantir is around the data and its ontology…this is NOT being disrupted by Claude… if anything it’s accelerated on the enterprise.”

In fact, Ives believes the bear case on Palantir is “dramatically incorrect” for three key reasons. First, its core advantage lies in Ontology, which functions as a digital twin of an organization by “integrating semantic, kinetic, and dynamic elements” of the business, enabling AI-driven decision-making and serving as the foundational layer that converts raw data into actionable AI workflows and agents within its AIP ecosystem. “In short,” adds Ives, “Ontology is the surface layer for AIP’s intelligence layer to thrive.”

Second, AIP adoption is accelerating meaningfully, with bootcamps delivering strong customer value that compresses sales cycles and speeds deployment. This is reflected in rising customer counts (up 34% year-over-year, with U.S. commercial nearing 50% growth) and robust pipeline expansion across higher-value contracts, including 40% growth in $1 million-plus deals and 91% growth in $10 million-plus deals in the most recent quarter.

Third, demand strength across both commercial and government segments points to widespread adoption, with increasing uptake of enterprise AI solutions that improve operational efficiency. This also positions Palantir’s “unique AI software approach” to benefit from ongoing government modernization efforts focused on productivity gains and workforce optimization.

Bottom line, Ives assigns PLTR shares an Outperform (i.e., Buy) rating, pairing it with a $230 price target that implies ~80% upside over the next year. (To watch Ives’ track record, click here)

The broader Street isn’t quite as aggressive, but it’s still firmly constructive. The average price target sits at $194.61, pointing to potential gains of ~52% over the same timeframe. As for sentiment, the mix of 14 Buys, 5 Holds, and 2 Sells lands PLTR stock in Moderate Buy territory. (See PLTR stock forecast)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.