Stock Market Today, March 24: Palantir Falls on Tech Weakness Despite New Government Contract Wins

By Howard Smith – Mar 24, 2026 at 5:02PM ESTExpandNASDAQ: PLTRPalantir TechnologiesToday's Change(-3.83%) $-6.17Current Price$154.68Key Data PointsMarket Cap$385BDay's Range$151.66 - $162.3752wk Range$66.12 - $207.52Volume1.9MAvg Vol48MGross Margin82.37%Palantir Technologies (PLTR 3.83%), a data integration and analytics platform provider, closed Tuesday at $154.78, down 3.77%. The stock moved lower during the regular session as tech-sector weakness and valuation concerns outweighed recent government-contract wins. Investors are also watching how durable demand for its AI-driven government work remains.Trading volume reached 54.3 million shares, coming in nearly 13% above its three-month average of 47.9 million shares. Palantir Technologies IPO'd in 2020 and has grown 1,529% since going public.How the markets moved todayS&P 500 (^GSPC 0.37%) slipped 0.36% to finish Tuesday at 6,557, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 0.84%) fell 0.84% to close at 21,762. Among leading technology names, industry peers Microsoft (MSFT 2.77%) closed at $372.74 (-2.68%) and Alphabet (GOOGL 3.85%) finished at $290.44 (-3.85%), reflecting broader pressure on high-valuation software stocks.What this means for investorsPalantir stock dropped with general tech weakness today, but there were also optimistic signs for the company’s continued strong growth. Valuation has always been a concern with Palantir stock, as it still trades for a future price-to-sales ratio of about 50 despite soaring revenue. Its government and military contract business continues to be a focus. Most recently it’s Maven Smart AI System was designated a “program of record” by the U.S. Department of Defense. Investors will want to continue to see announcements like that for the company to realize growth close to the 66% increase in U.S. government revenue Palantir reported in Q4. Read NextMar 24, 2026 •By Danny Vena, CPAWhy Palantir Technologies Stock Tumbled on WednesdayMar 23, 2026 •By Daniel SparksPalantir Stock Is Up About 23% in 1 Month. Time to Buy?Mar 23, 2026 •By Lawrence NgaWhere Could Palantir Be in 3 Years? Here's the Bull Case.Mar 23, 2026 •By Eric TrieStock Market Today, March 23: Palantir Rises After the Pentagon Designates Maven Program of RecordMar 23, 2026 •By Rick OrfordWhere Will Palantir Be in 5 Years if the Polymarket Deal Pays Off?Mar 23, 2026 •By Rich SmithWhy Palantir Stock Just PoppedAbout the AuthorHoward Smith is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering technology and industrial stocks. Prior to The Motley Fool, Howard spent nearly 30 years supervising quality and operations in the steel industry, mostly with leading steel company Nucor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from Lafayette College and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Johns Hopkins University.TMFBuilt2LastStocks MentionedPalantir TechnologiesNASDAQ: PLTR$154.68(-3.83%)-$6.17MicrosoftNASDAQ: MSFT$372.37(-2.77%)-$10.63AlphabetNASDAQ: GOOGL$290.42(-3.85%)-$11.64*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.