New York, March 1, 2026, 10:41 EST — Market closed.
- Palantir shares last closed up 0.9% at $137.19 after a volatile February.
- UBS lifted its rating to buy with a $180 target; Rosenblatt initiated at buy with a $150 target.
- Investors are watching Friday’s U.S. jobs report for a read on rate bets and risk appetite.
Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR.O) heads into Monday with two bullish turns from Wall Street, after UBS upgraded the stock to buy and Rosenblatt initiated coverage with a buy rating. 1
The calls land as investors start March still arguing over which software names win from artificial intelligence and which get squeezed by it. “There continues to be this back and forth about … who will actually emerge winners,” said Kristina Hooper, chief market strategist at Man Group. 2
Palantir, which sells data analytics and AI software to government agencies and companies, closed on Friday at $137.19, up 0.92% on the day. The stock’s 52-week range runs from $66.12 to $207.52, underlining how fast sentiment has swung around it. 3
Analysts led by Karl Keirstead at UBS said the pullback left shares “very attractive” at about 50 times their 2027 free cash flow estimate — free cash flow is cash left after running costs and investment. UBS kept a $180 price target and said partner checks showed “demand is exceptional,” while its latest work did not flag “any material emerging competition” from big cloud providers, Databricks or AI model suppliers. 4
Rosenblatt started coverage with a buy rating and a $150 target, calling Palantir a “market-disrupting AI software leader.” The firm said the shares have fallen about 33% from an October high, leaving what it viewed as a more workable entry point. 5
The backdrop is choppy. U.S. stocks took a hit in February on a mix of AI anxiety, renewed tariff risks and geopolitical tensions, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq logging their steepest monthly drops since March 2025, Reuters reported. 6
This week brings a tight run of catalysts that can move bond yields — and the high-multiple software names that tend to trade off them. Investors have ISM manufacturing data on Monday, ADP private payrolls and the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book on Wednesday, and the U.S. employment report on Friday alongside delayed January retail sales; earnings from Broadcom, CrowdStrike, Target and Costco are also due. 7
But the risk case is plain enough. If markets turn defensive again, or if clients pull back spending, the valuation argument can swing back against Palantir quickly, upgrades or not.
For now, traders will be watching whether Monday brings follow-through buying on the analyst calls, or another fade as the market waits for fresh macro reads.
Friday is the next clean timestamp: the U.S. employment report for February is scheduled for release at 8:30 a.m. ET, a data point that can reset rate expectations and risk appetite in one shot. 8
