Palantir buys $50 million worth of gold bars in August in preparation for a ‘black swan event’

Dan Tapiero, founder and CEO of 10T Holdings weighed in on the news of the purchase on Twitter. Gold prices are up more than 12% since early August 2021, while the S&P 500 has dropped about 6% over that same stretch. Food and energy prices, which were already on the rise by mid-2021, soared through mid-2022, with the year-over-year consumer price index peaking at 9.1% in June. That number has since come steadily down, reaching 4.9% last month, the slowest pace since April 2021. In its latest filing, the company gave no explanation as to why it made the sale, and a spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Shares of Palantir, which was co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel and CEO Alex Karp, have fared much better.

Other tech companies were pumping cash into equity investments and even bitcoin, but Palantir chose a more conservative path in parking some of its extra cash. “During the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company sold all of its gold bars for total proceeds of $51.1 million,” Palantir said in its first-quarter financial filing Tuesday. The company said the sale resulted in “an immaterial realized gain” on its statement of operations.

During the time of holding gold, Palantir’s holdings withstood inflation peaking at 9.1% in June 2022, and the Fed’s hiking cycle, which saw interest rates climb 5% in just over a year. But while some investors have recently voiced confidence in gold as inflation spiked in recent months, the price of the precious metal is down about 7 percent since Jan. 1. If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Palantir Technologies, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts. The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 45% bullish and 54%, bearish. We noticed this today when the big position showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.

At the time of writing, December Comex gold futures were trading at $1,782.80, down 0.28% on the day. Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely. Looking at the volume and open interest is a powerful move while trading options. This data can help you track the liquidity and interest for Palantir Technologies’s options for a given strike price.

Palantir Technologies Option Volume And Open Interest Over Last 30 Days

Palantir invested as much as $250 million in 10 special-purpose acquisition companies in the second quarter. Among them are Babylon Health, Lilium, Wejo, Sarcos Robotics, Celularity, Boxed, Roivant Sciences, and Pear Therapeutics, as well as two other companies identified as an autonomous vehicle company and a mobility company. The filing shows that the transactions took place between March 30 and June 22.

Palantir had previously said it would accept Bitcoin as a form of payment before adding precious metals more recently. At the time of Palantir’s investment in gold, the market was in a much different spot. Stocks were months away from peaking, crypto was flying high and interest rates were near zero.

Palantir Technologies Unusual Options Activity

Although black swan events seem to come with a negative connotation, the concept does not only apply to negative events. The company on August 12 reported second-quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates, closing 62 deals worth $1 million or more in the quarter. In its June quarter financial filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Palantir disclosed $250 million in commitments to a group of 10 companies through June 30.

• The company spent $50.7 million this month on gold, part of an unusual investment strategy that also includes startups, blank-check companies and possibly Bitcoin.
• COO Shyam Sankar told Bloomberg that accepting less traditional currencies “reflects more of a worldview.”
• “Cash equivalents primarily consist of money market funds and U.S. treasury securities with original maturities of three months or less, which are invested primarily with U.S. financial institutions,” Palantir’s filing said.
• Palantir Technologies announced a 13 percent increase in Q revenue to $533 million and also reported its third consecutive quarter of GAAP profitability.

COO Shyam Sankar told Bloomberg that accepting less traditional currencies “reflects more of a worldview.” COO Shyam Sankar told Bloomberg that accepting less traditional currencies “reflects more of a worldview.” The price of an ounce of gold crossed the $2,000 mark for the first time last year as the pandemic worsened and U.S. government stimulus efforts continued. This year investors have more loudly voiced concerns about inflation, and gold is sometimes viewed as a hedge against inflation, although prices are down 7% for the year. Palantir, which made its public market debut in September 2020, reported higher-than-expected revenue for the second quarter of 2021 after closing more than 62 deals, each worth $1 million or more.

“During August 2021, the Company purchased $50.7 million in 100-ounce gold bars,” Palantir said in the Aug. 12 earnings statement for its fiscal second quarter. “Such purchase will initially be kept in a secure third-party facility located in the northeastern United States and the Company is able to take physical possession of the gold bars stored at the facility at any time with reasonable notice.” Palantir also disclosed that it purchased $50.7 million in 100-ounce gold bars. Data-analytics firm Palantir Technologies purchased $50.7 million worth of 100-ounce gold bars, according to the company’s quarterly financial-results filing from August 12. Data-analytics firm Palantir Technologies purchased $50.7 million worth of 100-ounce gold bars, according to the company’s quarterly financial-results filing from August 12.

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Revenue has accelerated for two consecutive quarters, with 20 new customers joining in the fiscal second quarter. In May, the company’s finance chief Dave Glazer said that Palantir was also looking into having bitcoin or other cryptos on its balance https://1investing.in/ sheet. Palantir Gotham, one of the company’s artificial intelligence platforms, is used by counter-terrorism analysts at offices in the United States Intelligence Community (USIC) and United States Department of Defense, according to Palantir.

Getting back to Palantir, the company’s second-quarter earnings beat analyst estimates. In the period considered, Palantir closed 62 deals worth $1 million or more. Of those, 21 were worth more than $10 million and 30 were more than $5 million. The company has around $2.3 billion in cash and is exploring creative uses for that money. Dave Glazer, the company’s finance chief, stated at that time that there were numerous internal discussions on that matter. Besides, it is taking stakes in startups that are customers of Palantir software.

The company previously announced that it would accept bitcoin as a form of payment, though it hasn’t said that it’s invested in any bitcoin yet, unlike some other companies including Elon Musk’s electric car firm Tesla. Palantir makes data analysis software used by governments and private businesses. The company made headlines last week when it was announced that Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood bought 5.6 million Palantir shares worth around $139 million. The data analytics software company also noted that customers could pay for its software in gold, Bloomberg reported. In addition, since the beginning of the third quarter, Palantir has earmarked an additional $60 million towards new SPAC investments.

Market executive says not to worry about drop in gold

Palantir Technologies Inc. has purchased nearly $51 million in physical gold so far in August and may accept payment in gold in the future, according to a filing from the software company’s second quarter financial results. The Colorado-based company purchased $50.7 million worth of 100-ounce gold bars sometime in August, Palantir said in a short note buried in its 93-page second-quarter earnings report last week. Palantir’s 100-ounce gold bars will be kept in a secure location in the northeastern U.S., according to the filing. “The company is able to take physical possession of the gold bars stored at the facility at any time with reasonable notice,” Palantir wrote. Palantir Technologies Inc purchased $50.7 million worth of 100-ounce gold bars in August, according to the company’s latest earnings statement. While some companies such as Tesla are diversifying into bitcoin, data analytics software company Palantir is betting on gold.

According to Palantir, it will initially keep the gold in a secure third-party facility located in the northeastern United States. The company can take the gold bars stored at the facility at any time with reasonable notice. As Palantir COO Shyam Sankar explained, such a heavy investment in gold is a hedge against ‘black swan events’. Palantir’s gold bars will be kept in a secure location in the northeastern U.S., according to the filing.

“Cash equivalents primarily consist of money market funds and U.S. treasury securities with original maturities of three months or less, which are invested primarily with U.S. financial institutions,” the firm’s filing said. Investing in gold is seen as a way to hedge against negative classic chart patterns events in the future as well as inflation, as proponents see gold retaining its inherent value throughout any economic downturn. Palantir, co-founded by the technology billionaire Peter Thiel and Chief Executive Officer Alex Karp, makes software used by governments and businesses.

The company spent $50.7 million this month on gold, part of an unusual investment strategy that also includes startups, blank-check companies and possibly Bitcoin. At time of publication, gold was trading down 0.4% at $1,787.50 per ounce. “Cash equivalents primarily consist of money market funds and U.S. treasury securities with original maturities of three months or less, which are invested primarily with U.S. financial institutions,” Palantir’s filing said. According to the quarterly filing, Palantir closed the period with $1.62 billion in U.S. Treasury securities, accounting for more than half of its cash, equivalents and short-term investments. Year-to-date, spot prices are up more than 10%, with many analysts forecasting more upside potential for gold as the Fed signals a June pause in its tightening cycle.

“You have to be prepared for a future with more black swan events,” Sankar added. “You have to be prepared for a future with more black swan events,” he said, referring to major unexpected events that can have negative consequences. The gold purchase was buried in a securities filing last week for its quarterly financial results and reported earlier this week by Barron’s. The acceptance of gold as a form of payment hasn’t been previously reported. The company spent US$50.7 million this month on gold, part of an unusual investment strategy that also includes startups, blank-check companies and possibly Bitcoin.

Palantir had previously said it would accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. The purchases come as a number of U.S. companies have sought to diversify their cash holdings into other assets, mainly bitcoin. TipRanks has tracked 36,000 company insiders and found that a few of them are better than others when it comes to timing their transactions. See which 3 stocks are most likely to make moves following their insider activities. According to TipRanks, Thill is an analyst with an average return of -3.6% and a 42.31% success rate. Thill covers the Technology sector, focusing on stocks such as Microsoft, Adobe, and Salesforce.

All of those transactions were signed in the period from March 30 to June 22, and to date, none have been completed, the filing shows. Palantir Technologies has expanded its portfolio of investments in companies going public via SPACs, or special-purpose acquisition companies, to well over $300 million. The company on August 12 reported second-quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates, closing 62 deals worth $1 million or more in the quarter. The company on August 12 reported second-quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates, closing 62 deals worth $1 million or more in the quarter.

Palantir bought $50 million in gold bars in August, the company disclosed in its latest earnings statement. In August 2021, data analytics software vendor Palantir bought over $50 million worth of 100-ounce gold bars. The Denver-based big data company this month bought $50.7 million worth of 100-ounce gold bars, according to a regulatory filing. As Palantir’s Q2 report shows, the company is expanding its portfolio of investments in companies going public via SPACs, or special-purpose acquisition companies. In particular, of the 20 new customers Palantir added in the quarter, 7 were related to SPAC investments.

Palantir Technologies announced a 13 percent increase in Q revenue to $533 million and also reported its third consecutive quarter of GAAP profitability. Download our application to follow the precious metals market news, anywhere and anytime. Palantir, cofounded by the billionaire Peter Thiel, has built its reputation as a secret purveyor of government spy technologies by supplying tools to law enforcement and military clients around the globe, Insider previously reported in August 2020. Both asset classes have been touted as hedges against inflation, though bitcoin’s effectiveness has been in question as of late.

Palantir’s gold bars, which were purchased in August 2021, will be kept in a secure third-party facility in the northeastern US, according to the filing. Palantir shares soared 23% on Tuesday after the company reported earnings and revenue that topped analysts’ estimates. When Palantir bought gold in Q4 of 2021, prices were trading below $1,900 an ounce. In 2023, gold began the year around that same level, but at the end of March, prices climbed sustainably above $1,900 an ounce, testing $2,000 an ounce a couple of times. After completing a direct listing and debuting on the New York Stock Exchange in September, Palantir is now debt-free, the company’s finance chief, Dave Glazer, told analysts on a conference call last week.

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• Meanwhile, its supply of cash has been increasing, in part thanks to stock issuance and proceeds from the exercise of stock options.
• The price of an ounce of gold crossed the $2,000 mark for the first time last year as the pandemic worsened and U.S. government stimulus efforts continued.
• The move reflects a growing company stashing cash in an unconventional asset in response to economic uncertainty spurred by the coronavirus pandemic and governments’ response to it.

The stock was up almost 5 percent in midday trading Wednesday and its up about 150 percent since its IPO in September. MicroStrategy Inc., Tesla Inc. and Square Inc. are among those corporations that have in recent quarters added bitcoin to their portfolios. The gold will initially be stored by a third party somewhere in the Northeastern United States.