Palantir's stock surged 15% for the week ending March 6, 2026, making it a standout performer amid a broader market downturn triggered by the U.S. attack on Iran and subsequent escalation in the Middle East conflict [1]. While the Nasdaq fell 1.2% and other benchmarks declined due to rising oil prices and unexpected job losses in the U.S. economy, investors flocked to Palantir, which derives about 60% of its revenue from government contracts and has been expanding its work with military and intelligence agencies [1].
Analysts at Rosenblatt maintained their buy recommendation for Palantir and raised their price target from $150 to $200, citing the ongoing conflict as a positive driver for Palantir's government pipeline and noting that there are "adequate alternatives" to Anthropic's Claude models [1]. The stock closed at $157.16 on Friday [1]. Rosenblatt analysts also indicated that more deals similar to Palantir's $10 billion Army contract could be forthcoming, and highlighted the company's MavenSmart System program, which provides AI capabilities such as weapons targeting and was used in Iran [1].
Despite concerns about the government's blacklisting of Anthropic, which partnered with Palantir on defense work in late 2024, Wall Street appears largely unconcerned [1]. The Defense Department recently excluded Anthropic's technology from government contracts due to disagreements over the use of AI models in autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance [1]. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei announced plans to challenge the decision in court [1]. Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have stated they will continue to offer Anthropic's products for non-defense projects on their cloud platforms [1].
Palantir and Amazon Web Services partnered with Anthropic in November 2024 to make Claude models available to defense and intelligence agencies, and Anthropic was awarded a $200 million Department of Defense contract in July, becoming the first AI lab to integrate its models on classified networks [1]. Piper Sandler analysts described Anthropic as a "trailblazer" for AI in government environments and suggested that replacing it would be challenging, but still maintained a buy rating and a $230 price target for Palantir [1].
CONCLUSION
Palantir's strong weekly performance was driven by increased investor confidence amid geopolitical tensions and expectations of further government contracts. Despite the exclusion of Anthropic from defense projects, analysts remain bullish on Palantir, citing its robust pipeline and alternatives to Anthropic's technology. The market takeaway is that Palantir is well-positioned to benefit from heightened government spending and ongoing conflict-related demand.