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By Sinéad Carew
(Reuters) – Shares in Palantir Technologies Inc were up more than 6% on Friday, hitting a record high, after it announced late on Thursday that it would list on the Nasdaq and expects eligibility to join the Nasdaq 100 index.
The data analytics software company said it would switch its stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange and begin trading on Nasdaq on Nov. 26.
If it is included in the Nasdaq 100 index, this would mean that “anyone who uses the Nasdaq index as their benchmark will have to buy PLTR,” said Kenny Polcari, Chief Market Strategist for SlateStone Wealth in a research note.
Palantir has already benefited from a boom in GenAI technology, as more companies turn to its AI platform, which is used to test, debug code and evaluate AI-related scenarios.
The stock last traded at $62.90 after earlier hitting a high of $63.50 compared with the median price target of $39 from wall Street analysts according to LSEG, which shows ratings from 19 analysts.
Year-to-date Palantir shares are up about 267%, including a roughly 47% gain over the 7 sessions following its Nov. 4 quarterly update when it raised its 2024 revenue guidance.
Palantir shares are trading at roughly 130 times forward earnings estimates compared with its 2-yr average multiple of around 63.
(Reporting By Sinéad Carew, editing by Franklin Paul)