This Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock May Be the Best Company in the World, Says a Wall Street Analyst

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) has been a cornerstone of the artificial intelligence (AI) trade for several years. Its stock price, despite dropping 30% year to date, has increased 1,800% since January 2023.

In a recent interview, Gil Luria, head of technology research at D.A. Davidson, told Schwab Network, "Palantir may be the best company in the world. It's at least the best software company." He also explained that, while the stock remains expensive, the valuation is more attractive today than it has been in the past.

Earlier this month, Luria raised his target price to $175 per share. That implies 42% upside from the current share price of $123. However, most Wall Street analysts expect even larger gains. Palantir has a median target price of $200 per share, implying 62% upside.

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Palantir's unique software architecture gives the company an edge

Palantir develops analytics platforms that integrate data and apply artificial intelligence to help customers make better decisions. The company has differentiated itself with a unique software architecture. While most analytics tools focus on charts and tables, Palantir built its platforms around a decision-making framework called an ontology.

Think of the ontology as a digital twin. It connects data to real-world assets and processes, creating a single source of truth for an entire organization. By structuring information in a manner conducive to artificial intelligence, Palantir's ontology makes it easy for customers to surface insights and automate workflows.

Additionally, Palantir's Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) is an agnostic large language model orchestration tool, meaning customers can apply any AI model to the ontology data. That distinguishes Palantir from companies like Anthropic and OpenAI, whose products center on proprietary models rather than agnostic orchestration.

Luria says the market needs agnostic products, citing a recent U.S. government directive that forced Anthropic to temporarily suspend access to its Fable model. "So now companies know we need somebody like Palantir, where if something like that happens, they can swap in an OpenAI model or even an open-source model," he told Schwab Network.

Luria went on to say Palantir has always been a major player in the AI platforms market, but its role in that market is becoming even more important as the number of available models increases. "Most companies are in the very initial stages of trying everything to see what catches. But Palantir customers are using AI already to deliver results," he said.

Palantir has received praise from several independent research firms. Dresner Advisory Services has ranked the company as a leader in three market studies: artificial intelligence, data science, and machine learning; model operations; and agentic AI. Likewise, Forrester Research has recognized Palantir as a leader in AI decisioning platforms.

Palantir's impressive growth trajectory makes its rich valuation tolerable

Palantir reported impressive financial results in the first quarter. Revenue increased 85% to $1.6 billion, the 11th consecutive acceleration, and non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) earnings increased 153% to $0.33 per diluted share. The company also raised full-year guidance, now anticipating 71% revenue growth in 2026, up from 56% in 2025.

"Our financial results now demonstrate a level of strength that dwarfs the performance of essentially every software company in history at this scale," CEO Alex Karp told analysts on the earning call. "We are in a category of our own."

Looking ahead, Wall Street expects Palantir's earnings to grow at 56% annually through 2027. In that context, Palantir's current valuation of 128 times earnings is not cheap, but it is tolerable, especially given that the company has topped the consensus earnings estimate by an average of 15% over the last six quarters.

Luria's assertion that Palantir might be the best company in the world is rather bold. I'm not sure I'd go that far. Regardless, patient investors should consider buying a small position in the stock today.

Trevor Jennewine has positions in Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.