Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) stock investors got some good news to start their weekends. On Friday at 8 p.m. ET, Nasdaq (NASDAQ: NDAQ) announced that the artificial intelligence (AI)-powered software company is being added to the Nasdaq-100 index.
This move by Nasdaq — which owns and operates its namesake stock exchange and others — is part of its annual reconstitution of the Nasdaq-100 index, which comprises 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
In 2024, Palantir stock has soared 343% through Dec. 13 versus the S&P 500‘s 29% return. So, it’s easy to understand how a huge, roughly corresponding increase in Palantir’s market cap has landed it a place on the Nasdaq-100.
The timing of the news release was strategic, as 8 p.m. ET is when after-hours stock trading ends in the United States. I suspect Palantir stock would have gotten a boost had this news been released during either regular or after-hours trading.
Along with Palantir, the stocks being added to the Nasdaq-100, launched in 1985, are MicroStrategy and Axon Enterprise.
Palantir is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that provides AI-powered software over the cloud. Its platforms enable its customers to use their data to increase operational effectiveness and efficiency. Its customers include agencies within the U.S. government and those of our allies and commercial customers.
MicroStrategy operates as an enterprise software company, but most investors likely view it as a play on the price of Bitcoin since the company plows money into buying the cryptocurrency. As of Dec. 13, 2024, MicroStrategy stock is up 547%.
Axon sells body cameras and other products and services to law enforcement, the military, and consumers. Through Dec. 13, Axon stock is up 150% this year.
The three stocks being removed from the Nasdaq-100 are AI server specialist Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI), genomics-focused biotech Illumina, and biotech Moderna, best known as the maker of one of the two mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines.
Shares of Supermicro are up 28% through Dec. 13, 2024, but they’ve plunged 69% since hitting their all-time high in March. The stock’s big drop is partly due to the weakening of some of the company’s financial metrics. However, it mainly stems from the fallout following a well-known short-seller’s allegations of accounting manipulations and other items of concern to investors. (Short-sellers are those who bet on the price of a stock declining.)
