Planet Labs (PL) Stock Increases as Defense Initiative and AI Satellites Generate Momentum

TLDR

• Planet Labs (PL) shares increased 1.2% on Wednesday, reaching an intraday high of $35.17 and closing near $34.35.
• Quarterly results revealed revenue grew 41.1% year-over-year to $86.82M, but earnings per share significantly missed forecasts, coming in at ($0.48) versus an expected ($0.05).
• The company’s backlog reached a record $900M, a nearly 80% increase from the previous year, propelled by government and defense sector demand.
• AI-powered object detection was successfully demonstrated on-orbit using its Pelican-4 satellite, attaining approximately 80% accuracy.
• Institutional investors like Vanguard, Barclays, and Invesco substantially boosted their holdings, whereas company insiders sold shares.

(SeaPRwire) –   Planet Labs (PL) advanced 1.2% on Wednesday, after the stock reached a high of $35.17 during the session and closed around $34.35. Trading volume was approximately 10.9 million shares, about 22% lower than its average daily volume.

Planet Labs PBC, PL

The stock has performed strongly. With its 50-day moving average at $27.48 and its 200-day average at $20.78, Wednesday’s closing price was significantly above both technical levels.

The company’s latest earnings report, released on March 19th, presented a dual narrative. Quarterly revenue was $86.82M, exceeding the $78.17M estimate and marking a 41.1% increase from the same period last year. This represents the positive side of the report.

On the negative side, EPS was reported at ($0.48), a substantial miss compared to the ($0.05) consensus estimate. The company operates with a negative net margin of 80.22% and a negative return on equity of 69.61%. It is not currently profitable and does not anticipate becoming profitable in the near term.

Despite this, the market has chosen to focus elsewhere. Revenue growth has accelerated markedly—from 11% in Fiscal 2025 to 26% in Fiscal 2026, and then to 41% in the most recent quarter. This accelerating growth trajectory has captured investor interest.

Record Backlog Fueled by Defense Demand

The most notable figure is the company’s backlog. Planet concluded the quarter with a record $900 million in backlog, a surge of almost 80% compared to the previous year. This metric indicates rising demand from government and intelligence agency clients.

A primary catalyst is Planet’s focus on its Orbital Intelligence initiative. The firm conducted a successful test of AI-driven object detection onboard its Pelican-4 satellite over Alice Springs, Australia, achieving about 80% accuracy on unprocessed imagery.

This capability is significant because it drastically shortens the delay between image capture and actionable insight. Rather than transmitting raw data to Earth for analysis, the satellite can identify targets in space, cutting latency from hours down to minutes.

For defense clients, this transformation is critical. A real-time notification about aircraft activity on a runway holds substantially more value than an unanalyzed image waiting in a download queue.

Planet also maintains a research and development partnership with Google focused on space-based data infrastructure and recently secured a sovereign contract in Sweden. Its recurring annual contract value is 98%, a characteristic not typical of a commodity-based business model.

Analyst Targets and Institutional Moves

Analyst opinions are varied but generally tilt positive. Citigroup increased its price target to $35 and maintains a Buy rating. Cantor Fitzgerald raised its target to $40 with an Overweight rating. Morgan Stanley lifted its target to $35 but kept an Equal Weight rating. Northland Capital has a $28 target, and Weiss Ratings maintains a Sell recommendation. The consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $29.61, which is notably below the stock’s current trading price.

Institutional investors have been accumulating shares. VanEck expanded its position by 320%, Barclays by 758%, and Invesco by 265% in recent quarters. Vanguard grew its stake by 9.7% and now holds 18.5 million shares. Institutions together own 41.7% of the company’s stock.

Conversely, company insiders sold approximately 492,249 shares last quarter. Chief Financial Officer Ashley Johnson sold 200,000 shares on April 2nd at $35.10 per share, decreasing her holding by 9.55%.

The stock’s forward price-to-sales ratio is approximately 30x—a high valuation by most standards for a company that is still unprofitable. Analysts project full-year earnings per share to be ($0.37).