Palantir Surges 9% in Largest One-Day Gain Since April 2025

Palantir Technologies shares rose about 9% to $156.54 on Friday, the company’s largest one-day advance since April 2025. The gain extended a two-session rally that lifted the stock nearly 18% over the past two trading days.

The uptick followed a set of quarterly reports from other software and technology firms that beat expectations and cited stronger AI-related demand. One company highlighted an AI coding agent, known internally as Cortex Code or “CoCo,” as a contributor to its earnings beat; the tool is now used across more than 7,100 accounts and has generated meaningful AI-related revenue. HSBC upgraded that company to Buy, and Deutsche Bank raised its price target while maintaining a Buy rating. Deutsche Bank analysts wrote, “While we were cautiously optimistic heading into the print… results and commentary point to an even more meaningful underlying inflection in customer consumption patterns.”

Another technology company reported quarterly results late Thursday and has positioned itself as a supplier of AI infrastructure. That company also has a partnership with Palantir to offer an on-premises AI operating system aimed at healthcare, defense and other industries.

Palantir drew additional investor interest tied to defense and drone applications after reports that the federal government is considering direct funding support for U.S. drone manufacturers through discussions involving the Pentagon and the Office of Strategic Capital. Investors viewed potential funding as favorable for companies linked to military and drone operations; Palantir’s software is used in several defense and aerial-intelligence applications. Earlier this year, Palantir announced a partnership with Ondas and World View to develop an AI-enabled multi-domain intelligence platform for aerial and ground missions.

Despite the recent gains, Palantir shares remain lower year to date, down about 12% in 2026. The Nasdaq Composite has risen roughly 16% over the same period. Earlier in the year, many software stocks declined as investors weighed the potential for AI-native platforms to displace traditional software-as-a-service models.

Research firm 22V Research flagged that recent earnings reports have reduced the case for shorting software stocks, while stopping short of a full bullish stance. The firm included Palantir among software companies with strong earnings-per-share revisions and improving earnings sentiment, citing the tone of management commentary on recent earnings calls.

Market participants are watching upcoming earnings and industry developments for further signals about demand for AI-related cloud and infrastructure services.