BofA Sees Palantir Benefiting from Stronger Government Demand for Data Oversight

2022.07.05 18:21

BofA Sees Palantir Benefiting from Stronger Government Demand for Data Oversight

Bank of America analyst Mariana Pérez Mora has reiterated a ‘Buy’ rating on Palantir (NYSE:PLTR) shares as she believes the company will benefit from government demand for data oversight.

A recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) showed that 18 out of 24 government agencies have begun to incorporate facial recognition technology (FRT) data.

“However, internal studies have shown that many agencies have relied on non-federal FRT systems and were not effectively tracking usage, an unsafe and potentially compromising practice. For context, out of 14 federal agencies using FRT to conduct criminal investigations, 13 did not track employee use of non-federal FRT systems,” the analyst wrote in a client note.

Hence, Pérez Mora sees a revenue opportunity for Palantir as the government increases its focus on managing FRT data usage.

“The company’s Foundry software enables granular access controls, oversight of data usage, and secure cross-agency collaboration. In its 2021 10K filing, Palantir commits to ensuring that its software is as effective as possible while preserving individuals’ fundamental privacy rights. The company argues that Palantir platforms were built from the start to protect individual privacy and prevent the misuse of information.”

Pérez Mora also reflected on the criticism targeted at Palantir for the implications around privacy rights on its platforms’ use of FRT data.

“The amount of data generated by these types of sensors is rapidly increasing and the need for granular access controls provides significant opportunities for technologies like Palantir’s. Most of us are probably reading this from a device that required some kind fingerprint or facial recognition and our license plate was captured several times on our way to a 4th of July vacation,” the analyst wrote in a client note.

Palantir shares are down 1.2% in pre-open Tuesday.