Palantir CEO Alex Karp Thinks That Wall Street Needs A Change

Palantir’s controversial CEO didn’t hold back in his scathing rebuttal of ‘the establishment,’ but does he make a valid point?

Describing Wall Street’s “short-term focus” as “one of the most destructive, corrosive attributes of an otherwise interesting and largely functioning system”, Palantir (NYSE: PLTR) CEO Alex Karp doesn’t mince his words. 

In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, the Palantir co-founder expressed his displeasure with Wall Street analysts, who he believes are unjustly fixated with the short-term goals of a company and have taken their eyes off of the long-term potential. He is, of course, specifically referring to bearish pundits who believe that Palantir does not justify its current valuation, and while that may be a separate discussion, his concerns are valid.

The importance of long-term investing

There is certainly some truth behind these scathing words, though perhaps we would not have put it quite as aggressively. As long-term investors here at MyWallSt, we too have been frustrated at times with the short-term mentality displayed by many analysts.

Long-term investing allows you to invest in a company’s potential, and if you’re willing to be patient, you can just allow your investment to grow over time rather than selling early and losing out on a lot of potential. There is a whole lot more to long-term thinking than just that, which you can read in more detail here.

Should I Invest In Palantir?

That’s a different question altogether, and I’m sure Alex Karp would say “yes“. However, there are still a lot of question marks over the controversial company, including why it isn’t yet profitable after almost 20 years in business? 

This hasn’t caused investors to shy away from Palantir’s stock since its debut on the New York Stock Exchange though. Shares of Palantir closed at $25.60 on Tuesday, a gain of nearly 170% since closing its first session at $9.50 on September 30, 2020, but down 4.4% on the day.

If you want to learn more about Palantir as an investment, you can read about it here:

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MyWallSt operates a full disclosure policy. MyWallSt staff currently holds long positions in companies mentioned above. Read our full disclosure policy here