The chief executive of software company Palantir blasted short sellers on Wall Street, saying that “nothing makes a human happier than taking the lines of cocaine away” from people who “just love pulling down great American companies.”
“I love burning the short sellers,” Alex Karp told CNBC on Wednesday.
“Almost nothing makes a human happier than taking the lines of cocaine away from these short sellers, who like, are going short on a truly great American company. Not just ours, but just love pulling down great American companies so they can pay for their coke.”
Karp made the comments just weeks after his company’s stock price surged on news that Palantir won a $178 million contract from the US Army to equip its Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node (TITAN) ground station with data fusion and AI-powered deep-sensing capabilities.
Palantir, co-founded by Karp and billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel, has seen its share price soar by more than 50% since the start of the year.
The company stock was trading at $25 a share before Thursday’s opening bell.
Anyone shorting Palantir stock over the past year has taken a bath. The company’s stock price rose threefold in 2023 — outperforming the Nasdaq’s 53.8% gain.
Short sellers are investors who profit if the value of a stock falls. An investor borrows shares of an asset and then sells the borrowed shares to buyers at market price.
The investor sells it with the intention of buying it back later for less money. But if the stock price goes up, short sellers are stuck with a loss.
“The best thing that could happen to them is we will lead their coke dealers to their homes after they can’t pay their bills,” Karp said.
“You know, do your thing, we’ll do our thing.”
Karp echoed longstanding sentiments expressed by another tech mogul, Tesla boss Elon Musk, who once suggested that short selling should be outlawed.
Jim Chanos, the short seller who gained prominence after correctly betting that the now-defunct energy giant Enron would collapse, has recently expressed skepticism about Palantir’s stock, according to Benzinga.
Last month, Palantir said it expects 2024 to be its “first profitable year” due to strong demand from its AI offerings.
The company signed 103 deals of over $1 million each in the fourth quarter that ended Dec. 31, Ryan Taylor, its chief revenue officer, told Reuters.
US commercial revenue surged 70% to $131 million, compared with a 12% increase a year earlier.
Total commercial revenue of $284 million beat Wall Street estimates.
Palantir expects 2024 US commercial revenue to grow at least 40%, compared with a 36% rise in 2023.
The company forecast adjusted 2024 profit between $834 million and $850 million, above estimates, while its revenue forecast was in line with estimates.
With Post wires
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