Monness downgrades Palantir, says recent rally may be unsustainable

Monness Crespi analyst Brian White downgraded Palantir Technologies to Neutral from Buy without a price target. The “economic road ahead appears treacherous” for next-generation software companies that are still trying to gain credibility with investors, White tells investors in a research note. Palantir shares have rebounded sharply from the lows in May, but the strength may “prove unsustainable in the current environment,” writes the analyst. White says that while Palantir is well positioned to benefit from the secular trends around digital transformation, big data and the cloud, with the economy appearing to be in a recession and the geopolitical landscape “unpredictable,” he’s stepping to the sidelines ahead of the company’s Q2 results on August 8.