Barron： Palantir Stock Could Gain 18%.

Palantir Technologies has no shortage of support, and some analysts appear to have a renewed sense of enthusiasm after a selloff battered the shares last month.

One such cheerleader is BofA Securities, which reiterated a Buy rating on the stock on Tuesday and hiked its price target to $215 from $180. Shares rose 1.5% to $182.10, with the updated price target suggesting 18% upside.

Palantir has seen explosive gains this year, rising 142%. As of Monday, it was trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 228.28, compared to 23.01 for the SP 500. Such a hyper-inflated valuation signals high hopes for future growth, and BofA is one believer.

On the government front, Palantir received its first billion-dollar award outside of the US, the firm noted, referring to a five-year deal with the U.K. Ministry of Defence, unveiled as part of a broader investment package during President Donald Trumps visit to the U.K. last week.

The deal, worth up to 750 million euros, builds on Palantirs momentum as the global digital battle-management system, BofA asserted. The award marks an expansion of a previous agreement from 2022 that was valued at 75 million.

Outside of Palantirs progress in the government space, BofA is particularly bullish on the firms Forward Deployed Engineers, or FDEs. These software engineers, nicknamed Delta, work directly with customers to tailor Palantirs artificial-intelligence-powered software to the needs of individual organizations.

In a 2020 blog post, an FDE explained the role as such: While a traditional software engineer, or Dev, focuses on creating a single

It might sound like a lot of corporate boosterism, but BofA believes the FDEs are an accelerator of growth, particularly within the companys burgeoning commercial segment.

By successfully implementing these breakthrough capabilities inhouse, the company will benefit from increased demand, scalability and empowered engineers that can focus on the most complex problems, the BofA team wrote.

The firms increased price target comes with higher earnings estimates that reflect strength in Palantirs commercial and government international applications.

Analysts see earnings of 85 cents a share for 2026 and $1.14 a share for 2027, up from 84 cents and $1.12, respectively. BofA also expects sales to grow 41% in 2026, up from previous calls for 36%. The firm projects a compound annual growth rate of 35%, up from 23%, between 2025 and 2030.

Concerns about Palantirs lofty valuation wont dissipate anytime soon, and most analysts dont recommend buying the stock. Of 29 firms tracked by FactSet, 18 rate it at Hold. Just seven rate it at Buy.

However, optimists like BofA believe Palantir is worth the investment. In the words of the firm: If it works, its not expensive.