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Business Insider
a day ago
- Business
- Business Insider
An everyday investor built a $2 million portfolio with a single stock. Here's how.
Diversifying your portfolio is one of the most basic pieces of investing advice that financial planners emphasize, but 47-year-old Etienne Breton has generated a seven-figure net worth and potentially secured early retirement in doing the opposite: going all-in on shares of software company Palantir. Up over 80% in 2025, Palantir is one of the hottest stocks in the market right now thanks to a combination of AI momentum, the Trump trade, and an army of bullish retail investors. But Breton certainly isn't just chasing a recent trend. He started buying Palantir in late 2020, shortly after the company went public — and kept adding to his position even as the stock floundered through much of the early 2020s. Now, his position has grown to 17,800 shares with another 2,000 on margin for a total investment value of almost $2.5 million, brokerage statements viewed by Business Insider show. A single-stock strategy Palantir is the only stock Breton owns. "I tried to identify very extraordinary companies. I didn't want to diversify," Breton said. Two decades prior to buying Palantir, Breton had dabbled in the stock market for a short period, but sold out after the 9/11-induced stock market plunge. His reentry into the market during the pandemic was well-timed. "I saw someone selling all of their stocks because of the crash, so I did the exact opposite and opened an account," Breton told Business Insider. Breton quickly landed on Palantir after learning about the company from a YouTube video. As a technical expert at a manufacturing company, Breton was drawn to the company because Palantir's offerings seemed like they could solve many of the issues he was seeing at his job, such as data silos and supply chain difficulties. In a leap of faith, Breton went all-in. "I sold my real estate and put almost everything I had into the stock," he said. Breton began buying around $10 a share and continued building his position aggressively as the stock fell to as low as $6 in 2020. Breton kept a running tally of his Palantir purchases on his garage wall. By the time the share price returned to $10, it was mid-2023, and according to Breton, he held 10,000 shares at an average price of $8.83. In April 2023, Palantir launched its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP). It was the big break Breton had been waiting for. From there, the stock began to slowly rebound, eventually snowballing into the mega-cap tech giant it is today. Palantir options Since 2023, Breton has also engaged in a variety of options strategies to generate income on his underlying shares and continue buying Palantir. "I began selling covered calls seriously, but not on my core position. I used margin to buy thousands more shares and sell aggressive covered calls using a ladder strategy," Breton said. That means he borrowed money to buy more Palantir shares, then sold call options on the shares, collecting a cash premium in exchange for agreeing to sell the stock at a certain price in the future. Laddering, or spreading the contracts across different prices and expiration dates, helped Breton create a steady stream of income. Now, Breton is still slowly adding to his Palantir position with the premiums he receives on his covered calls. Breton's aware of the risk that comes with having much of his net worth tied up in Palantir, so he's also buying Long-Term Equity Anticipation Securities (LEAPs), which are options with expiry dates a year or more in the future. This strategy allows him to earn income on his underlying shares and still benefit from potential upside. One contract he showed Business Insider indicated that he had sold a $185 call and a $130 put expiring in December 2027, while also buying a $45 protective put. This setup is known as a strangle with downside protection: As long as Palantir stays between $130 and $185 through December 2027, both of those sold options expire worthless, and he keeps the full premium. If Palantir trades above $185, Breton would give up any additional upside beyond that. If Palantir stock plummets, the protective put caps his loss and allows him to sell his shares at a minimum of $45. Breton also collects an upfront premium for selling the options. Breton doesn't have plans to sell the underlying Palantir shares, although he would be open to investing in a new stock with the money he earns on the premiums. "I'm now planning my retirement, which is approaching much sooner than I ever expected," Breton said. But he's not too eager to walk away from work just yet. "I have a nice career, so I don't want to stop all of that," he added. "I'll just take my time and maybe explore some business projects."
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Palantir vs. UiPath: Which AI-First Software Stock Deserves Your Bet?
Both Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR and UiPath Inc. PATH are prominent companies at the forefront of AI-centric software innovation. Palantir is renowned for its expertise in large-scale data analytics and decision intelligence platforms, serving government agencies, defense sectors and large enterprises with complex data integration and real-time situational awareness. UiPath focuses on robotic process automation (RPA), leveraging artificial intelligence to automate repetitive business processes and enhance operational efficiency across various industries. While Palantir empowers strategic decision-making through advanced analytics, UiPath streamlines workflows, making both essential players in the evolving AI ecosystem. Palantir Technologies is experiencing explosive growth driven by the rapid adoption of its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), which has quickly become its most powerful engine for commercial expansion. In the first quarter of 2025, AIP significantly propelled U.S. commercial revenues, which soared 71% year over year and 19% sequentially. This strong performance pushed the company past a $1 billion annual run rate in U.S. commercial sales for the first time. The momentum is also reflected in the total contract value of the commercial segment, which surged 239% YoY. Deal sizes have grown meaningfully, with the number of contracts worth over $1 million more than doubling compared to the previous year. A key driver of this adoption is the popularity of Palantir's AIP bootcamps, short, focused training programs that help customers rapidly onboard and deploy AIP within their organizations. These bootcamps enable clients to quickly implement production-grade AI workflows, dramatically reducing time-to-value and showcasing AIP's simplicity and real-world applicability. Palantir's AIP empowers enterprises to deploy autonomous AI agents that not only speed up decision-making but also multiply productivity gains. Unlike peers focused on building AI models, Palantir is dominating the application layer, delivering practical, enterprise-ready AI systems that deliver measurable value from day one. As a result, the U.S. commercial segment is now the company's most dynamic and scalable growth driver, with AIP at the heart of that acceleration. UiPath continues to be a global leader in the fast-growing RPA market, leveraging AI to automate rule-based and repetitive digital tasks across enterprise environments. Its platform facilitates end-to-end automation, excelling in areas such as task mining, workflow orchestration, and process optimization. This has led to broad adoption across diverse industries, including finance, healthcare, insurance and the public sector. UiPath's strength is amplified through strategic partnerships with technology giants like Microsoft MSFT, Amazon AMZN, and Salesforce CRM. These alliances not only expand UiPath's integration within enterprise IT ecosystems — such as Azure, AWS and Salesforce Cloud — but also reinforce its credibility and market reach in an increasingly competitive automation landscape. The company boasts high customer retention, with net retention rates ranging between 110% and 115%, underscoring its ability to expand usage within existing accounts. In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, UiPath reported a 6% increase in revenues year over year, reaching $357 million. Additionally, its annual recurring revenue rose 12% to $1.69 billion, reflecting the strength of its subscription-based business model and customer loyalty. With a strong global presence, a robust partner network, and a continued focus on intelligent automation, UiPath remains well-positioned to lead in the evolving RPA and enterprise automation market. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PLTR's 2025 sales and EPS indicates year-over-year growth of 37% and 41%, respectively. EPS estimates have been trending upward over the past 60 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UiPath's 2025 sales suggests 8.5% year-over-year growth, while EPS is expected to grow 6%. EPS estimates have been trending downward over the past 60 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research UiPath is trading at a forward sales multiple of 4.07X, below its 12-month median of 4.5X. Palantir's forward sales multiple stands at 72.9X, above its median of 46.76X. While Palantir boasts impressive AIP-driven growth, UiPath offers a more balanced and sustainable investment profile. Its leadership in RPA, strong customer retention, and strategic partnerships with tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon provide long-term stability. With consistent revenue growth, a robust subscription model, and a forward sales multiple well below Palantir's lofty one, UiPath presents a more attractive valuation and lower-risk entry point. Moreover, rising EPS estimates favor PLTR, but PATH's proven enterprise stickiness and ecosystem integration make it the smarter AI-first software stock to bet on in today's automation-driven business landscape. While PATH carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), PLTR carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Salesforce Inc. (CRM) : Free Stock Analysis Report UiPath, Inc. (PATH) : Free Stock Analysis Report Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
21-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
CRWV vs. PLTR vs. NVDA: Which Is the Best AI Stock to Buy Now, According to Analysts?
The stock market remains volatile due to geopolitical tensions and macro uncertainty, raising concerns about a potential slowdown in AI (artificial intelligence) spending. Nonetheless, Wall Street remains confident about several AI stocks, given the massive growth opportunity in the generative AI space over the long term. Using TipRanks' Stock Comparison Tool, we placed CoreWeave (CRWV), Palantir Technologies (PLTR), and Nvidia (NVDA) against each other to find the best AI stock, according to Wall Street analysts. Confident Investing Starts Here: CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) Stock CoreWeave, a cloud provider that specializes in AI infrastructure, is experiencing strong traction for its offerings amid the ongoing AI boom. The company has been in the news for its strategic deals. Notably, CoreWeave struck a $11.9 billion 5-year cloud computing contract with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI. The two AI companies also signed an expanded agreement of up to $4 billion to meet the growing demand for high-performance computing. Furthermore, CoreWeave is reportedly powering the recently announced cloud deal between Alphabet's Google (GOOGL) and OpenAI. CRWV stock has rallied by a staggering 359% from its IPO (initial public offering) price of $40. Is CRWV a Good Stock to Buy? Recently, Bank of America analyst Bradley Sills downgraded CoreWeave stock to Hold from Buy on valuation concerns, following the stellar rally in the AI infrastructure stock in reaction to the Q1 earnings. The 4-star analyst highlighted that CRWV stock is trading at an elevated valuation of 2027 EV/EBIT (enterprise value-to-earnings before interest and taxes) of 25x. While Sills noted several positives, like the expansion of CoreWeave's partnership with OpenAI and impressive revenue momentum, he pointed out the company's huge capital expenditure ($46.1 billion through 2027). Consequently, the analyst expects $21 billion of negative free cash flow through 2027. Turning to Wall Street, CoreWeave stock scores a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on six Buys, 11 Holds, and one Sell recommendation. The average CRWV stock price target of $78.53 indicates a significant downside risk of 57.2% from current levels. Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR) Stock Data analytics company Palantir Technologies is considered one of the hottest AI stocks. PLTR stock has rallied more than 81% so far in 2025. The company's revenue is growing at a rapid pace across its Government and Commercial businesses. Palantir's AIP (Artificial Intelligence Platform) offering is bolstering its business. Palantir's market-beating first-quarter results reinforced the strength of its AI-powered offerings. Notably, Q1 2025 revenue increased by 39% year-over-year to $884 million, while adjusted EPS (earnings per share) jumped 62%. Additionally, the company raised its full-year guidance, as it believes that it is in the 'middle of a tectonic shift' in the adoption of its software, mainly in the U.S. Is Palantir Stock a Buy? While several analysts are cautious on Palantir stock due to its lofty valuation, Loop Capital analyst Mark Schappel reiterated a Buy rating and boosted the price target from $130 to a Street-high of $150. Following a meeting with management, the 5-star analyst stated that he is more convinced about PLTR's AI growth story and his bullish investment thesis. Schappel believes that Palantir is an early software leader in enterprise AI, which he thinks is at a 'tipping point,' as small-scale pilots move into production and AI use cases increase exponentially across all industries. Trading at 48x EV/2027 revenue, the analyst agrees that PLTR stock is 'not for the faint of heart.' That said, he contends that investors should look at the big picture, which indicates that Palantir is exposed to a massive AI opportunity. With 10 Holds, three Buys, and four Sells, Wall Street has a Hold consensus rating on Palantir Technologies stock. The average PLTR stock price forecast of $104.27 indicates a possible downside of 24.1% from current levels. Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) Stock After a tough start to the year due to concerns about rising competition in the AI space, chip export restrictions, and tariff woes, Nvidia stock has recovered 21% over the past three months and is up 7.1% year-to-date. While uncertainty around chip exports and competition from custom AI chips remain an overhang, the semiconductor giant continues to gain from robust demand for its GPUs (graphics processing units) in the AI space, as reflected in the market-beating first-quarter results. Looking ahead, the demand for NVDA's Blackwell platform is expected to boost its top-line growth. Moreover, the company's focus on 'sovereign AI,' which it defines as a country's ability to develop and deploy AI, could drive its revenue higher. In this regard, Nvidia's lucrative deals, like the recently announced agreement with Saudi Arabia and Germany, are worth noting. Is Nvidia Stock a Buy, Hold, or Sell? Earlier this month, Bank of America Securities analyst Vivek Arya reiterated a Buy rating on Nvidia stock with a price target of $180. Following a meeting with management, the 5-star analyst noted that the tone of the team was very positive regarding demand for Nvidia's products and continued customer interest across cloud and enterprise, backed by a full-scale supply ramp. Arya believes that management addressed three key investor debates that have been weighing on NVDA stock over the past year – Blackwell rack ramp and execution, AI diffusion and sovereign demand, and China AI shipments. The analyst stated that Nvidia stock remains a top sector pick for Bank of America, as it is 'best positioned' to benefit from the ongoing AI boom, bolstered by a multi-year lead in 'performance (AI scaling), pipeline, incumbency, scale, and developer support.' Despite near-term challenges, Wall Street has a Strong Buy consensus rating on Nvidia stock based on 35 Buys, four Holds, and one Sell recommendation. The average NVDA stock price target of $173.19 indicates 20.4% upside potential from current levels. Conclusion Wall Street is highly bullish on Nvidia stock, cautiously optimistic on CoreWeave, and sidelined on Palantir stock. Currently, analysts forecast further upside in chip giant Nvidia's stock while they see possible downside risk in the other two AI stocks. The optimism of most analysts on Nvidia stock is backed by its strong fundamentals, robust demand for its AI chips, continued innovation, and solid execution.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Even $200 in These Stocks Could Mint a Fortune
With explosive U.S. commercial growth and an 83% Rule of 40 score, Palantir Technologies is positioned to grow even more in the coming years. SoundHound is well positioned to become a dominant force in the conversational AI space. 10 stocks we like better than Palantir Technologies › After a strong market rebound since April, some of the market's most attractive artificial intelligence (AI) stocks are no longer cheap. However, that doesn't mean that they have no upside potential. In fact, for long-term investors who can tolerate short-term volatility and premium valuations, there are still a few attractive picks that can help them build wealth, especially as AI adoption has accelerated across all walks of business and life. You also would not need boatloads of cash to build this fortune. Even with $200 to invest today (which is not required for paying bills or contingencies), picking a stake in Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) and SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) can prove to be quite brilliant. Here's why. Data analytics giant Palantir has delivered an impressive financial performance in its recent first-quarter fiscal 2025 results (ending March 31), and the growth trajectory is likely to remain strong in the long run. The company's revenues jumped 39% year over year to $884 million. The growth rate is nearly double the 21% top-line growth rate achieved in the same quarter of the previous year, indicating that the company is on an accelerated growth trajectory. The U.S. commercial business has emerged as a significant growth catalyst, with year-over-year growth of 71%, crossing the $1 billion annual run rate threshold in the first quarter. Palantir also posted a Rule of 40 score of 83%, a two-percentage-point increase compared to the previous quarter. It is a critical metric for evaluating the performance of software-as-a-service (SaaS) and other high-growth technology companies, stating that the combination of revenue growth and profit margins should be at least 40%. With Palantir operating at approximately double the cutoff, it underscores the quality growth of this AI giant. The company also generated $370 million in free cash flow, demonstrating that it has sufficient funds to support its growth initiatives. Palantir differentiates itself from other AI players with its "Warp Speed" manufacturing operating system, built atop the Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), to streamline various industrial operations. Furthermore, instead of focusing on building newer and more advanced AI models, which eventually lose their competitive advantage, the company has developed a solid ontological framework that helps it relate the assets and relationships within an organization to its digital counterparts. This data advantage is leading to huge switching costs for customers, as replacing it becomes not only expensive but also disruptive for the overall business. Palantir trades at 208.3 times forward earnings, which is very expensive. However, profitable and practically debt-free AI companies with accelerating top-line growth and a huge $5.4 billion cash balance are not easy to come by. Hence, the stock is a smart buy for long-term investors who are ready to ride some volatility, even at elevated valuation levels. Amidst multiple AI stocks with unproven technologies, SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) stands out with its voice AI platform, which is already seeing strong traction in the enterprise world. This is evident considering that the company's revenues soared a dramatic 151% year over year in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 to $29.1 million. Additionally, the company has also built a $1.2 billion backlog of cumulative subscriptions and bookings. This implies that the company has impressive revenue visibility for several more years to come. SoundHound is leveraging its multimodal and multilingual proprietary Polaris foundational model to power its conversational AI solutions. However, what makes SoundHound's technology stand out is its ability to directly process voice commands to understand the underlying meaning. On the other hand, traditional voice systems first convert the voice to text and then to a meaningful representation. This "speech-to-meaning technology" has helped dramatically reduce latency in real time, thereby making voice communications four times faster than competitors, while also improving accuracy to twice the level of competitors, even in noisy environments. The superior technology has helped the company build a sticky customer base. Although previously geared mainly toward the restaurant industry, SoundHound is now actively diversifying its customer base into healthcare, automotive, and financial services. Furthermore, no single customer accounted for more than 10% of its revenue in the first quarter. SoundHound has also been focusing on strategic acquisitions to build a comprehensive voice ecosystem. The acquisition of SYNQ3 has dramatically expanded its market reach in the restaurant industry. The Amelia acquisition has also strengthened the company's position in the massive enterprise AI market. Recently, SoundHound launched Amelia 7.0, powered by a proprietary multiprocess agentic framework called "Agentic Plus." This platform will enable businesses to deploy fleets of AI agents that can understand, reason, and autonomously complete actions. Finally, the Allset acquisition has positioned SoundHound as a key player in the voice commerce space. The company is developing technology that allows drivers to order food while driving, thereby enabling SoundHound to leverage its automotive partnerships with restaurant networks. It is indisputable that the stock looks expensive at 36.7 times sales, but that misses the bigger picture. With $245.8 million in cash and just $4.6 million in debt, SoundHound has the financial flexibility to focus on several growth initiatives. Management also expects to reach adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) profitability by the end of 2025. Considering the company's cutting-edge conversational AI technology, robust financial trajectory, and focused inorganic growth strategy, SoundHound seems an attractive buy now. Before you buy stock in Palantir Technologies, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Palantir Technologies wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $659,171!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $891,722!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 995% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 172% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025 Manali Pradhan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Even $200 in These Stocks Could Mint a Fortune was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
16-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Palantir Stock Lands a New Street-High Price Target
AI stock Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) presents a bit of a conundrum for investors right now. On the one hand, the company has been on a steady upward trajectory, delivering strong earnings reports and gaining real traction with its products – particularly its AI offering, AIP (Artificial Intelligence Platform). On the other hand, the share gains that followed its success have left the stock with an extremely lofty valuation. Confident Investing Starts Here: This point was brought up by Loop Capital analyst Mark Schappel, who notes that the stock is now trading at a sky-high 48x EV/2027E Revenue – the richest multiple in the entire enterprise software space. In short, 'PLTR is not for the faint of heart.' However, Schappel says the key to investing in PLTR is to 'buy into the big picture.' First, there's the massive AI market opportunity still in its early innings. Second, the breadth of AI applications has the potential to reshape how entire industries operate – meaning Palantir's growth potential isn't capped by market size. And third, Palantir is uniquely positioned to lead this shift. 'For those wanting exposure to this dynamic, we think it's hard to put a price on the opportunity,' Schappel adds. His comments followed an investor meeting with Palantir CFO David Glazer – a meeting that left the analyst with 'increased conviction in the story.' It opened with a demo of AIP, Palantir's platform that fuses large language models, enterprise data, and internal business logic to power real-world operations. The presentation showcased AIP's ability to manage complex data, integrate LLMs, and automate workflows – reinforcing the view that Palantir isn't just another data infrastructure provider. Schappel emphasized that Palantir goes beyond traditional analytics tools. 'Instead,' he explained, 'PLTR is a platform that combines data integration with operational business logic, where it orchestrates business workflows for AI-driven operational decision making.' As for competition – the most common question from investors – Schappel noted that Palantir doesn't view data-centric firms like Snowflake, Databricks, or cloud providers as direct threats. Those companies largely handle data storage and historical analysis, whereas Palantir aims to be an enterprise operating system that actively powers decision-making across dynamic environments. Summing up, Schappel believes Palantir is an 'early software leader in enterprise AI,' positioned 'at a tipping point as small-scale pilots move into production and as AI use cases grow exponentially across all industries.' Backing that view, he lifts his price target from $130 to a Street-high of $155, implying a potential upside of 14.5%. Schappel keeps his Buy rating firmly in place. (To watch Schappel's track record, click here) Most analysts, though, have a more skeptical bent; based on a mix of 11 Holds, 4 Sells and 3 Buys, the stock claims a Hold consensus rating. The average target stands at $104, 23% below the current share price. (See PLTR stock forecas t) To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks' Best Stocks to Buy, a tool that unites all of TipRanks' equity insights.
