Andrew Left has made a career out of sharp market calls, from labeling Valeant the “pharmaceutical Enron” in 2015 to getting caught on the wrong side of the GameStop (GME) saga. Now, the famed short-seller has put Palantir stock (PLTR) in his crosshairs, while backing a rival AI player.
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In mid-August, Left went on Fox Business and said Palantir’s valuation was “so absurd” that it was bound to correct by 50%. “There’s never been a company that has that type of multiple or that type of P/E that’s not corrected,” he said. Since then, Palantir stock has fallen 18%, validating the call.
Left Is Bullish on Databricks
Despite his successful Palantir warning, Left insists he isn’t returning to his old short-selling playbook. Instead, he’s pivoting to finding long opportunities. Speaking to Business Insider, he singled out Databricks, a $100 billion cloud-based data intelligence company, as the standout AI competitor.
“If you ask someone, aside from the hyper scalers, who the biggest competition for Palantir is going to be, it’s going to be Databricks,” Left said.
He added that Databricks is growing faster, runs a true SaaS model, and isn’t dependent on government contracts like Palantir. On X, he noted: “Give Palantir the same $100 billion valuation that Databricks just earned. Where does that put the stock? $40.” That’s nearly 75% below where Palantir stock trades today.
This Is the Main Problem for Palantir Bulls
Left has been clear that his issue with Palantir isn’t the company itself but its stretched valuation. He’s even praised CEO Alex Karp. But his comparison to Databricks is hard to ignore. By his math, if Databricks justifies $100 billion, Palantir should be worth far less than where it is today.
That sets up a challenging backdrop for investors who see Palantir as the pure-play AI stock of choice. If Databricks ever goes public, it could directly pull capital and attention away from Palantir.
Nevertheless, Databricks remains private and has signaled no immediate IPO plans. But for Andrew Left, Databricks is the rival he’s betting on.
Is Palantir a Good Stock to Buy Now?
Palantir stock currently carries a Hold rating based on 19 analyst reviews in the past three months. Of those, four analysts recommend a Buy, 13 suggest a Hold, and two rate it a Sell.
The average 12-month PLTR price target sits at $154.47, which points to a modest upside of about 0.89% from the latest close.
