Palantir's Crystal Ball Can't Guarantee a Bright Future
The data-mining company’s solid but not stellar stock debut shows investors can be discerning even in frothy times for tech shares.
Palantir’s management sees a bright future, but investors may not share exactly the same vision.
Photographer: Keystone/Hulton ArchiveIn a hot market for new technology stocks, it was Palantir Technologies Inc.’s turn in the spotlight on Wednesday. The debut wasn’t a complete show-stopper, and that’s fine — not everything can, or should, be a market darling.
The data-mining company, co-founded by billionaire and Donald Trump supporter Peter Thiel, went public through a direct listing and started trading at $10, above the New York Stock Exchange’s $7.25 reference price. A $10 price equates to a market value of about $22 billion on a fully diluted basis, which, while respectable, isn’t much higher than its last private fund-raising round in 2015 at $20 billion. Palantir traded as high as $11.42 on Wednesday before drifting back under $10 to close at $9.50.