The Swiss National Bank's Chairman, Martin Schlegel, has publicly defended the central bank's significant $1.1 billion stake in Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR), following renewed calls from Minneapolis-based activists demanding the sale of the holding. The activists' campaign is tied to Palantir's contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which they argue contribute to human rights abuses.
According to Reuters, the SNB held 6.24 million shares of Palantir at the close of 2025, a position that forms part of its broader foreign-currency reserve strategy. Schlegel emphasized that the SNB does not hand-pick individual stocks, but rather weights its holdings based on market capitalization to achieve diversification. He noted that companies found to be in serious violation of human rights or core Swiss values are excluded, and described the bank's screening process as "very robust."
Palantir's Government Contracts and Market Reaction
Palantir shares experienced a 7.24% decline on Thursday, closing at $141.57, following a 4.56% gain the previous day. The stock was trading higher in premarket hours on Friday, according to Investing.com data, as investors weighed the company's expanding public-sector deals against the growing scrutiny of its technology.
This week, Palantir and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a $300 million Blanket Purchase Agreement designed to support farm-security and service-delivery systems. The deal will back the National Farm Security Action Plan and the "One Farmer, One File" initiative, aimed at streamlining farmers' access to USDA services. "America depends on its farmers," said Ali Monfre, Palantir's federal engineering lead, while USDA Chief Information Officer Sam Berry added, "Protecting America's farmland is protecting America itself."
Human Rights Concerns and Shareholder Proposals
The Minneapolis activists, including Janette Corcelius, have labeled Palantir "a threat to our democracy," linking their appeal to deadly encounters between ICE and Minneapolis residents in January. Palantir has not commented on the latest criticism, but CEO Alex Karp has previously defended the company's controls, stating its tools reveal "only what ought to be seen" to government users.
In a proxy filing released on Friday, Palantir announced that shareholders will vote on two proposals at the June 3 annual meeting. One proposal calls for an independent due-diligence report, while the other requests a Human Rights Impact Assessment to evaluate the real-world and theoretical effects of Palantir's products. The board recommends voting against both, arguing they misunderstand the situation and offer no new information to shareholders.
Defense and Intelligence Contracts
Palantir's federal pipeline continues to expand, with defense contracts representing a significant growth driver. Last month, Reuters reported that the Pentagon is moving to make Palantir's Maven platform a formal program of record, which could secure longer-term funding. Maven is a command-and-control system that analyzes battlefield data and can identify targets. Additionally, Palantir and Anduril are both building software for the Golden Dome missile defense project, with Scale AI also contributing.
However, the company faces ongoing data privacy risks. This week, American Oversight filed a lawsuit against multiple federal agencies over Palantir's surveillance and personal data analysis systems, as reported by FedScoop. In response, Palantir executive Lauren Penneys stated that the USDA project is a "USDA-specific effort" and not a case of cross-department data sharing.
Wall Street Outlook
Despite the controversies, Wall Street analysts remain bullish. Rosenblatt Securities has maintained a buy rating and a $200 price target for Palantir, citing business momentum from the fourth quarter through the first half of 2026. However, the same note flagged that InvestingPro's fair-value assessment suggests the stock is currently overvalued.
Palantir's challenge has shifted: securing large government deals is only part of the equation. The company must now weigh whether the growth from those contracts can outpace the heightened scrutiny that inevitably follows when its advanced software is deployed in public-sector operations.
