Shares of Palantir (PLTR) -) have been volatile in recent trading.
In the three trading sessions through Wednesday the stock fell roughly 15%; it closed Friday at $20.27 and Wednesday at $17.13. At last check the shares of the data-analytics-software giant ticked up to trade around $17.28. (For 2023 through Wednesday the stock has more than doubled.)
The recent dip followed a note from William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma, in which he warned that Palantir's dealings with the U.S. Army could soon see something of a reduction.
The tech firm signed a $458 million contract with the Army in 2019. The contract is set to expire in the coming weeks.
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Comments made at a recent industry event, where the Army discussed plans to maximize its use of open-source vendors, indicated to DiPalma that any renewal contract will carry a price tag far below the current one.
The analyst, who says "friction" between the Army and Palantir is mounting due to questions of data ownership, says the Army will offer a cheaper two-year contract when it comes time to renew.
“There is no data ownership conflict between Palantir and the Army, on Army Vantage or elsewhere," Palantir said in a statement following the note. "Palantir does not have or retain any ownership rights to customer data, across any of our Government or Commercial customers.”
More than half of Palantir's revenue comes from government contracts.
Cathie Wood's Ark Invest buys into Palantir
In the midst of this stock tumble, Ark Invest snapped up more than 1.5 million shares of Palantir across several of its ETFs.
Ark's flagship Innovation ETF was responsible for the bulk of the purchase, buying more than 1.2 million shares, valued at more than $20 million.
Related: Cathie Wood explains why she cut Ark's Tesla holding
Ark Innovation's Palantir holding, now made up of 7.7 million shares, is valued at $133.4 million and makes up 1.61% of the fund.
In the third quarter Palantir earned $72 million on $558 million in revenue, which the company said was the "most significant" profit it has posted.
Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives in July initiated coverage of Palantir with an outperform rating and a $25 price target.
"In a nutshell, we believe Palantir has built an AI fortress that is unmatched and poised to be a major player in this AI Revolution over the next decade," Ives said at the time.
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