Grant & Eisenhofer Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Palantir on Behalf of Institutional Investor
The suit, brought in federal court in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, was filed by leading investor law firm Grant & Eisenhofer .
Pension fund Allegheny County Employees’ Retirement System has filed a class action lawsuit today against software developer Palantir Technologies Inc. (“Palantir” or the “Company”) and certain of its senior executives.
The suit, brought in federal court in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, was filed by leading investor law firm Grant & Eisenhofer.
The action is brought on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired the securities of Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) between February 16, 2021 and May 6, 2022, inclusive (the “Class Period”). The action is captioned: Allegheny County Employees’ Retirement System v. Palantir Technologies Inc., Alexander C. Karp, David Glazer, and Shyam Sankar, caption: 1:22-cv-02805 (D. Co.). It is related to the action titled Cupat v. Palantir Technologies Inc., et al., 1:22-cv-02384 (D. Co.).
Palantir builds and deploys software platforms to assist the U.S. and foreign intelligence community in counterterrorism investigations and operations. The Company has two operating segments, commercial and government, with the latter primarily serving agencies in the U.S. federal government and non-U.S. governments. Palantir also invests in so-called “marketable securities” consisting of equity securities in publicly-traded companies.
The complaint alleges violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the 1934 Securities Exchange Act. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants failed to disclose that: (i) Palantir’s investments in marketable securities were having a significant negative impact on the Company’s earnings per share (“EPS”) results; (ii) Palantir overstated the sustainability of its government segment’s growth and revenues; and (iii) Palantir was experiencing a significant slowdown in revenue growth, particularly among its government customers, despite ongoing global conflicts and market disruptions.
Palantir has consistently described sources of geopolitical instability and other disruptions - e.g., armed conflicts, economic crises, and the COVID-19 pandemic - as tailwinds for its business, given that the Company’s products and services are purportedly built to aid its customers in assessing and responding to such disruptions.
Yet, on May 9, 2022, Palantir announced adjusted EPS of $0.02 for Q1, compared to analyst estimates of $0.04 per share, noting on a conference call that the “[f]irst quarter adjusted [EPS of] $0.02 . . . includes a negative $0.02 impact driven primarily by unrealized losses on marketable securities.” The Company also disclosed that government revenue grew by only 16% year-over-year for Q1, representing a significant slowdown in revenue growth compared to prior quarters, and that, for Q2, the Company expected $470 million in sales, compared to estimates of $483.76 million.
On this news, Palantir’s stock price fell $2.02 per share, or 21.31%, to close at $7.46 per share on May 9, 2022.
As multiple news outlets reported that day, Palantir’s significant decline in revenue growth, particularly from its government customers, surprised investors, especially given the ongoing geopolitical instability and other disruptions caused by, inter alia, the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic and Russo-Ukrainian War—that is, precisely the type of destabilizing conditions that the Company had previously touted as tailwinds for its business.
For investors who purchased or acquired Palantir securities during the Class Period, you are a member of this proposed Class and may be able to seek appointment as lead plaintiff, which is a court-appointed representative for the Class, by complying with the relevant provisions for the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “PSLRA”). See 15 U.S.C. Section 78u-4(a)(2)(A)(i)-(iv). If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court by no later than November 14, 2022. You do not need seek to become a lead plaintiff in order to share in any possible recovery. You may also retain counsel of your choice to represent you in this action.
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Caitlin M. Moyna at Grant & Eisenhofer at 646-722-8513, or via email at [email protected].
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