Palantir Technologies Stock Price and Forecast: Why is PLTR stock up? Consolidation after results

• Palantir shares surged 11% on Thursday to $24.89.
• PLTR popped on the back of strong earnings reports.
• The stock adds a small gain on Friday.

Update: Palantir stock is up just under half a percent on Friday after seeing a surge in interest on Thursday. The company reported strong earnings with very strong revenue and new customer data and Palantir stock surged 11% on the day. Friday is obviously seeing a more modest move but a consolidation after such a strong move is perfect to set and wait for further gains.

Palantir stock surged 11% on Thursday as the company reported a strong set of results before the market opened. Earnings per share (EPS) was $0.04, just ahead of the estimate for $0.03. Revenue came in at $376 million, also ahead of estimates of $353 million. Revenue was up nearly 50% QoQ. Palantir also increased its guidance for Q3 revenue to $385 million, which is ahead of analyst estimates for $376.4 million. Palantir raised its estimate for full-year 2021 adjusted free cash flow guidance to $300 million-plus, from a previous $150 million-plus. Palantir said it had 62 new deals worth over $1 million and that it booked over $900 million in contracts for the quarter. Also impressive were the 20 new customers Palantir added during the quarter. 

Hard to argue with those results, and Palantir stock reacted accordingly, surging in premarket just after the results came out and continuing the strong trend throughout Thursday's session. Friday sees a host of price target increases from Wall Street analysts with more likely to follow. Friday so far has brought price target increases from Jefferies, who raised the price target from $28 to $30. RBC raised their target from $20 to $25, and Citigroup raised their PLTR target from $17 to $18. Nothing too dramatic, but it is all in the right direction for bulls.

Palantir key statistics

Palantir PLTR stock forecast

Palantir stock had been trending nicely with a steady uptrend channel preparing the way for Thursday's breakout. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Commodity Channel Index (CCI) had both been trending higher in line with price and so confirming the move. Now PLTR has broken out of this trend channel with the new target being $27.49. This is the high from June 28. This is a big level as we can clearly see from the volume profile. Once through here, the volume thins out sharply, meaning a further push higher should be easier to achieve. $27.49 also represents the long sideways consolidation move that PLTR stock has gone through since the heady days of the retail frenzy saw it hit $45 back in January. Breaking out of this range could be powerful. To maintain the bullish trend, PLTR would need to stay above $23.49. Currently, PLTR stock is right at point of control for 2021. This is the price with the highest volume, so Palantir may find it difficult to push higher just yet. A period of consolidaion is ok though, so long at $23.49 holds. This will likely be where the 9-day moving average sits today.