RBC says Palantir is priced like a moonshot

The valuation is doing the heavy lifting

Palantir is still one of the market’s favorite high-growth darlings, but RBC Capital Markets is basically asking: how much runway is left here, really? The firm kept its $90 price target, yet pointed out that PLTR is trading at roughly 50x expected 2026 revenue and about 35x 2027 sales. That’s not “cheap,” that’s “we’d like the stock to come with a seatbelt.”

The government business is flashing yellow

RBC also said its tracker of U.S. government spending data shows Palantir’s quarterly contract value slipping to $43.9 million in Q1 from $65.9 million in Q4. Net new contract value was negative for a second straight quarter, which is a little awkward for a company that’s supposed to benefit when the world gets more chaotic.

Retail investors are asking the spicy questions

The report also dug into Say Technologies questions and found investors are increasingly obsessed with the stuff Palantir isn’t doing yet: stock splits, dividends, and what the company might do with its $7 billion cash pile. Meanwhile, questions about Anthropic, Maven, and Michael Burry are popping up more often, which is investor-speak for: “show me the next act.”

Why you should care

RBC’s broader worry is that Palantir’s commercial momentum could get squeezed as Microsoft, Databricks, Snowflake, OpenAI, and Anthropic crowd the stage. Even if the growth story stays intact, the market may be asking whether the valuation already priced in the encore.

Big picture: Palantir still has plenty of believers, but when the multiple is this high, even a small wobble can feel like a pothole in a Ferrari.