Palantir Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: PLTR) remains in focus this morning after its top executive, Alex Karp, called famed investor Michael Burry “bats—crazy.”
Burry is widely known for correctly calling the US housing market crash in 2008, a trade famously chronicled in The Big Short by Michael Lewis and later adapted into an Oscar-winning movie.
Karp’s remarks arrive shortly after PLTR posted another strong quarter and raised future guidance on absolutely no signs of a slowdown in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption.
Still, Palantir stock was seen trading as much as 10% down on Tuesday morning.
Why Alex Karp made the fiery comment about Michael Burry
Alex Karp blasted short sellers, singling out Michael Burry in a CNBC interview this morning after filings confirmed the Big Short investor is betting against both PLTR stock and NVDA.
“The idea that chips and ontology is what you want to short is bats—crazy,” he said, adding Burry’s put options worth $912 million against Palantir Technologies are akin to “putting a short on AI.”
In the said interview, the company’s chief executive also questioned whether the investor’s move was a genuine bet or a strategy to exit quietly, saying “It’s probably just, ‘How do I get my position out and not look like a fool?”
Note that the founder of Scion Asset Management is short-selling Palantir mostly due to valuation concerns.
The data analytics firm is currently going for nearly 450x forward earnings – a multiple that dwarfs even Nvidia at less than 50.
Is Karp’s optimism about Palantir stock unfounded?
Famed investor Michael Burry’s bet against Palantir shares sure is grounded, given the company’s stretched valuation – but it’s not like CEO Karp’s comments aren’t either.
While the AI stock is currently one of the most expensive names in the S&P 500 index, the Nasdaq-listed firm’s fundamentals are growing at an exceptional pace, warranting a premium.
Its government revenue grew more than 52% in the fiscal Q3, while commercial revenue more than doubled to $397 million.
More importantly, the management now sees free cash flow hitting $2 billion this year.
In fact, the earnings release made senior tech analyst Gil Luria dub Palantir Technologies “the best software company” – especially after its recent partnerships with renowned names like Snowflake, Nvidia, and Lumen.
In his CNBC interview, Alex Karp himself acknowledged that there are signs of excess in certain areas of the AI market and that some names are poised to feel the pain eventually.
However, “the strong companies are going to get much stronger, and the people pretending they’re doing stuff are going to disappear very quickly,” he added, placing PLTR stock in the former.
How to play PLTR shares heading into 2026
All in all, Palantir stock, through “authentic and substantive growth”, has enabled retail investors to enjoy rates of returns “previously limited to the most successful venture capitalists in Palo Alto,” argued CEO Karp in a letter to shareholders today.
While he believes PLTR shares can sustain the momentum over the long term, Wall Street remains divided.
Jefferies’ Brent Thill – for example – argues the firm’s current valuation leaves no margin for error, cautioning that even aggressive growth may fail to justify its stock price at these levels.
As artificial intelligence euphoria cools, therefore, investors must weigh Palantir’s promise against the risks of perfection-priced execution.
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