Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: PLTR) stock is down 6% as of 3:40 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in spite of news of a fresh contract from the U.S. Department of Defense and the addition of a new executive.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are both up 0.4% so far in Wednesday’s trading.
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Palantir landed a new Army TITAN contract and hired AIG’s Peter Zaffino on Sept. 2, 2026
Palantir did make news on Wednesday, but it was hardly an obvious reason to sell. The company announced that the Army had awarded its subsidiary, Palantir USG, Inc., with the contract for “production and delivery of the Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node (TITAN) ground station system, the Army’s next-generation deep-sensing capability enabled by artificial intelligence and machine learning.”
Palantir also said that Peter Zaffino is leaving his role as executive chairman of insurance giant AIG in order to join Palantir as its global head of financial services.
The sell-off reflects profit-taking at a roughly 144 P/E, not the news itself
So why the slide? This is most likely a matter of investors taking profits after a massive recent run for the stock, especially given its extreme valuation. Palantir shares currently trade at roughly 144 times earnings.
The stock is likely also being pressured by the bond market. The 10-year Treasury yield slid a bit on Wednesday, but only after briefly reaching its highest level in roughly 3 years. Higher yields tend to drag on growth stocks because they make future earnings less valuable in today’s dollars.
The business is strong; the valuation is the risk
Palantir’s underlying business remains extremely strong. There’s no denying that. My issue continues to be its valuation. Palantir stock is falling on Sept. 2, 2026, even after the company landed a new U.S. Army TITAN contract and hired AIG’s Peter Zaffino as its global head of financial services.
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