Data-mining software company Palantir Technologies is popular among retail investors, but Bank of America said it's still misunderstood by many on Wall Street.
In a note on Tuesday, analysts pointed out that a 1980 estimate of cell phone users by 2000 was just 900,000. The actual number of mobile subscriptions that year was more than 100 million. Meanwhile, such early forecasts also failed to see the advent of mobile apps and smart devices.
"We view Palantir's (PLTR) capabilities, technology and path forward facing a similar fundamental misunderstanding," wrote BofA analysts led by Mariana Perez Mora. "The upcoming S&P 500 inclusion provides a watershed moment for institutional investors to revisit what they 'know' about PLTR."
BofA reiterated its buy rating on Palantir stock and raised its price target to $50 from $30. The new target represents 40.5% upside from the stock's closing price on Friday. And that comes after shares had already jumped on news last week that the company would join the S&P 500 later this month and have more than doubled in the year to date.
A key misunderstanding on Wall Street is Palantir's unconventional sales strategy, which has engineers playing a key role. While investors have said the approach limits scalability and profitability, BofA disagrees.
"We think this method makes PLTR solutions significantly more relevant to the users and gives PLTR stronger pricing power," the note said. "The engineers create intimacy with the customer's mission and help shape the product to add real value."
Meanwhile, as Palantir racks up more customers in the public and private sectors, BofA sees a huge opportunity for the company to become the common data operational system for the U.S. government and large U.S. businesses.
Palantir is known for its work in defense and intelligence but has also been expanding in the commercial space.
Celebrating Palantir's inclusion in the S&P 500, CEO Alex Karp took a victory lap in a video posted on Tuesday. He also nodded to Wall Street's misconceptions about the company, which developed and offered products a decade ahead of rivals, allowing entire enterprises to use AI and large language models.
"It's still radical to the point where people do not completely comprehend," Karp said. "They do not comprehend how we could've turned a switch and gone to GAAP profitability. And gone from what adults, professional managers, and some analysts thought was a Frankenstein monster powered by a freak show leader—me—to a dynamic, clearly profitable company worthy of and admitted to the S&P 500."
Along the way, Palantir charted its own course, ignoring what conventional wisdom preached, he added, while also applauding retail investors who maintained faith in the company.
"All of you who are inside the company and around the world should celebrate that the rebels won," he said.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com