Palantir Technologies: A Closer Look at the AI Stock's Recent Performance and Future Prospects

Palantir Technologies: Shares Are Nearing The Tipping Point (NYSE:PLTR)

Looking for a helping hand in the market? Members of Crude Value Insights get exclusive ideas and guidance to navigate any climate. Learn More " One of the most impressive stocks over the past year has been Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR). From one year ago today through the present day, shares are up an amazing 86.9%. This move higher has been driven in large part by optimism regarding how the company will benefit from the AI boom. But with optimism comes a risk of overvaluation. You see, back in early May of this year, I wrote an article that took a neutral stance on the company. Over the span of four days around that time, the stock had dropped nearly 19% at its worst. This was in spite of the fact that overall financial performance reported by the business for the first quarter of its 2024 fiscal year indicated that management was achieving attractive growth. I pointed out, in that article, that investors would likely be making a mistake by buying that plunge. And this was because of how expensive shares were. Much to my surprise, things have gone a lot better than anticipated. Shares are up 33.6% since then at a time when the S&P 500 is up only 3%. As disappointing as this is to me, I do think that we are reaching the point where the stock might very well warrant a downgrade to something more bearish like a 'sell'. Because of improved growth, particularly higher guidance for this year, I'm not pulling that trigger just yet. But it won't take much more to justify such a downgrade. When I last wrote about Palantir Technologies earlier this year, we only had data covering through the first quarter of 2024. That data now extends through the second quarter of this year. By every measure that matters, management has done a fine job. Take revenue for starters. During the second quarter, revenue totaled $678.1 million. That's 34.3% above the $533.3 million the company reported just one year earlier. For much of its early history, Palantir Technologies built its business around government agencies. But over the past couple of years now, management has been emphasizing the potential role that the commercial side of the economy could play in pushing revenue and cash flows higher. During the second quarter, the company generated $307 million in revenue from commercial activities. That's 32.3% above the $232 million reported the same time last year. In the US specifically, commercial revenue growth was an astounding 54.4%, growing from $103 million to $159 million. On the commercial side of things, the company finally hit 295 customers in the US during its most recent quarter. That's up from 262 in the first quarter of this year and it dwarfs the 161 that the company had in the second quarter of 2023. Its total global commercial customer count hit an all-time high of 467 during the quarter. That's well above the 302 reported for the second quarter of 2023. This is not to say that the company isn't continuing to grow on the government side as well. Government revenue in the second quarter of this year was $371 million. That happens to be 22.8% above the $302 million reported one year earlier. In the US, government revenue jumped 23.6% year over year, climbing from $225 million to $278 million. When you add on to this the commercial customers that the company has, its total customer count hit 593 in the most recent quarter. This stacks up nicely against the 554 reported in the first quarter and the 421 reported in the second quarter of 2023. During the second quarter alone, management closed 96 deals that were worth, individually, $1 million or more. 33 of these were worth at least $5 million. And 27 of them were worth $10 million or more. This is quite a haul. And, so long as nothing significantly negative comes out of the woodwork, it should translate to additional revenue growth for the foreseeable future. A lot of these contracts seem to be related to AI. In fact, during the second quarter, one of the contracts that it signed was a five year, $480 million deal, with the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office for the purpose of scaling AI and machine learning capabilities across the entire US Department of Defense. With revenue climbing, profits and cash flows have followed suit. Net income skyrocketed from $28.1 million in the second quarter of 2023 to $134.1 million in the second quarter of this year. After making certain adjustments, net income nearly doubled from $119.5 million to $221.4 million. Operating cash flow expanded from $90.2 million to $144.2 million. On an adjusted basis, where we strip out changes in working capital, we get an increase from $141.2 million to $284.3 million. And finally, EBITDA for the business expanded from $143.4 million to $261.6 million. In the chart above, you can see financial results for the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023. Clearly, things are going quite well for the company, with revenue, profits, and cash flows, all rising significantly on a year over year basis. In fact, things are going so well that management decided to increase guidance for the year. Previous guidance had called for revenue of between $2.677 billion and $2.689 billion. But now, that number has been pushed up to between $2.742 billion and $2.750 billion. At the midpoint, that's an increase of about $63 million. On the bottom line, management now anticipates adjusted income from operations of between $966 million and $974 million. The prior expected range was between $868 million and $880 million. At the midpoint, that's an improvement of about $96 million, or 11%. If we assume that other profitability metrics will rise at the same rate, then we would get adjusted operating cash flow of $1.08 billion and EBITDA of $1.02 billion. These would be quite a bit higher than the $705.9 million and $666.1 million, respectively, generated in 2023. Using these figures, you can see how shares of the company are valued on a forward basis in the chart above. You can also see the valuation using results from 2023. I don't know about you, but I consider these to be incredibly high multiples. Now to be fair, this is backed by rapid growth. But even if we assume that strong growth for the company will persist for the foreseeable future, this is a difficult valuation to get excited about. In the table above, you can see what should happen if revenue and cash flows for the company grow at a 20% annualized rate from 2025 through 2027. You can see the trading multiples of the company in those cases. Even in 2027, shares do look very pricey. However, profits this year are expected to be about 53.3% above what they were last year. So a 20% annualized growth rate might not be aggressive enough to assume. In the first table below, I repeated this analysis using a 30% annualized growth rate. And in the table below that, I did the same thing with the assumption that revenue and cash flows grow at 40% per annum. I would argue that, under the most aggressive scenario, the stock finally becomes reasonably attractive in 2027. But that's banking a lot on future growth that might fail to impress. One good thing about the company is that it does have plenty of fuel in the tank. Back in the first quarter of 2023, the company had no debt on its books and it enjoyed $2.93 billion worth of cash and cash equivalents. This number expanded to $3.87 billion by the end of the first quarter of this year. And by the end of the second quarter, it had grown even more to just a hair under $4 billion. This does provide flexibility and safety for investors. It also provides the company capital with which to grow. While this situation can probably justify a slight premium, the multiples that we are looking at now still look absurd. Truth be told, I'm not ready to take a bearish stance on Palantir Technologies just yet. The company is a growth machine and its balance sheet is robust. However, even the healthiest companies can reach the point of being overvalued. I do think that shares are very lofty at this point in time. And I would argue that, if we continue to see the stock outperform the broader market, without some corresponding improvement in financial condition, it may not be long before a downgrade from a 'hold' to a 'sell' is warranted.

Palantir Stock Q2: Slam The Brakes Before It Goes Overboard (NYSE:PLTR)

Looking for a helping hand in the market? Members of Ultimate Growth Investing get exclusive ideas and guidance to navigate any climate. Learn More " Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) investors have enjoyed a remarkable revival over the past week, even though last week's market volatility threatened to scupper its uptrend bias. Accordingly, PLTR fell almost 30% through its early August 2024 lows before posting a fantastic recovery in the same week. I assessed much of the market's optimism is predicated on its solid execution and raised guidance in its recent earnings scorecard. In Palantir's Q2 earnings release, management provided crucial insights, justifying its "A+" buying momentum. Given the stock's status as one of the leading pure-play AI stocks, it has also helped brush aside near-term AI monetization fears. In my previous Palantir article, I urged investors to be cautious, as I gleaned that PLTR's valuation reached frothy levels. My caution played out as PLTR suffered a significant downside, as the stock underperformed the market initially. Although the stock has likely bottomed out after its earnings release, investors who bought its plunge in August have outperformed investors who bought at its July 2024 highs. What drove these investors to regain confidence in Palantir's bullish thesis over the past two weeks? Palantir's Q2 earnings commentary corroborates the company's confidence in its go-to-market motion through its innovative boot camp sessions. As a result, it has accelerated its commercial market ramp, landing customers rapidly and ramping the "prototype to production" momentum. Boot camps are designed to help customers understand Palantir's AIP better, promoting "the rapid prototyping of AI solutions." In addition, it also allows customers to gain firsthand experience of the company's applications in "real-world scenarios." While the approach is assessed to be novel, the company's execution has been stellar, as it lifted commercial revenue growth markedly. As seen above, its commercial business grew 32.4% YoY in Q2, reaching $307.4M. When excluding strategic deals, the growth rate was closer to 40%. Notably, the US commercial business performed much better, as revenue surged 70% YoY (excluding strategic contracts). Hence, it demonstrates that the company's boot camp-driven approach has worked immensely well, as customers understood the value of Palantir's AIP. In my previous article, I reminded investors why Palantir's ontology helps make Generative AI actionable. The company has provided more insights into how Chain-of-Thought prompting is embedded within AIP to enhance the transparency of its AI systems. Accordingly, Palantir emphasized that "CoT prompting can make AI systems appear more explainable." However, shortcomings in its reasoning process must still be considered. Despite that, the value of CoT in helping make AI responses "easier to audit and analyze" is a crucial underpinning. As a result, Palantir believes its AI platform has demonstrated its ability to make GenAI usable and more effective, helping to mitigate the limitations generally associated with LLMs. As a result, I'm not surprised that Microsoft (MSFT) and Palantir highlighted their recent partnership to bolster their offerings for top-level customers in the defense and intelligence community. Accordingly, the two leading AI software players are "collaborating to bring secure cloud, AI, and analytics capabilities to the US defense and intelligence community." Therefore, I assess the collaboration as validating Palantir's platform leadership. It has also allowed Palantir to capitalize on Microsoft's Azure OpenAI service to drive growth momentum in Palantir's government business. Palantir's government segment has already enjoyed a revival in Q2, as revenue increased by 23% YoY. It also marked an acceleration in topline growth, underscored by a 10.7% QoQ uptick. Therefore, I assess that Palantir's US government business has likely received a further boost with the Microsoft partnership. It has also validated the "mission-critical" factors of the company's AI platform in the DoD's strategy, enhancing its reputation as a top-class AI platform provider. Consequently, Palantir's ability to drive broad-based growth across its commercial and government business justifies the market optimism. However, questions must also be asked on whether the recent recovery has been too fast, too furious? Wall Street estimates on Palantir have been upgraded, underscoring its growth inflection, driven by the AI gold rush. Palantir's raised guidance and ability to maintain GAAP profitability have afforded investors more confidence to stay invested. Notwithstanding the market's optimism, I believe it's still too early to assess whether Palantir's boot camp-driven GTM strategy is sustainable. Why? PLTR's growth-adjusted valuation metrics suggest the market has baked in significant optimism, pricing the stock for perfection. There's little doubt that the hyperscalers have committed to massive AI investment spending. Management also observed that "the revenue expectations from the AI ecosystem's infrastructure build-out have grown from $200B to $600B per year in just nine months." However, there are lingering doubts about whether the $1T in GenAI spending will eventually pay off. The market still needs to assess the monetization growth story, which is still in its infancy. Consequently, while optimism in Palantir's bullish proposition isn't misplaced, taking it too far could be painful if a more robust AI monetization doesn't pan out. PLTR's forward adjusted PEG ratio of 3.63 is almost 95% above its tech sector median. Therefore, I find it incredibly challenging to justify a Buy rating, even though I assess that its uptrend continuation thesis could carry on. In other words, there are sufficient fundamental reasons in the AI gold rush to believe that PLTR's "A+" momentum grade is justified. However, buying a stock priced for perfection at the current levels doesn't seem wise. If anything, the significant market volatility experienced in early August should have provided clues into why investors should wait patiently for possible pullbacks to improve their risk/reward. Rating: Maintain Hold. Important note: Investors are reminded to do their due diligence and not rely on the information provided as financial advice. Consider this article as supplementing your required research. Please always apply independent thinking. Note that the rating is not intended to time a specific entry/exit at the point of writing unless otherwise specified. Have constructive commentary to improve our thesis? Spotted a critical gap in our view? Saw something important that we didn't? Agree or disagree? Comment below with the aim of helping everyone in the community to learn better!

Is Palantir Technologies a No-Brainer Buy After Posting Record Numbers? | The Motley Fool

The business is generating a lot of growth due to artificial intelligence, but is it enough to send the stock higher? Palantir Technologies (PLTR 0.71%) rallied more than 200% in the past five years. Not only has the data analytics company achieved significant growth during that stretch, but its operations have also become profitable. The business is gaining more credibility, and it may only be a matter of time before the stock gets added to the S&P 500 index. The tech company is coming off yet another impressive quarter that saw it hit new records. Has the stock finally proven its doubters wrong, and is it a surefire buy at this point? A big concern I had with Palantir in the past was that its growth rate simply wasn't showing enough progress despite all of management's claims of incredible demand due to artificial intelligence (AI). Palantir, after all, had hundreds of bootcamps with potential customers to showcase its AI-powered platform, AIP, which would help them improve decision-making and unlock efficiencies in their day-to-day operations. This past quarter, which ended in June, Palantir's revenue hit a new record of $678.1 million. It marked a 27% increase from the same period last year. And that means that's yet another quarter of the business' growth rate picking up pace. Given its high growth rate, especially at a time when many businesses are struggling due to inflation and waning consumer demand, you might be wondering why Palantir's stock isn't taking off. The problem may lie with its mammoth share count. Palantir's share count is fairly high with more than 2.2 billion shares outstanding. Even though the company generated a strong 20% profit margin and net income totaled $134.1 million this past quarter, that still equates to a per-share profit of just $0.06 when you divide that profit by all those shares. That, in turn, hurts the stock's valuation. If the stock is trading at around $29 and the company's annual earnings per share is just $0.17, investors are paying a massive price-to-earnings multiple of 170. Even based on revenue, the stock is trading at a multiple of 29. And if you look at the price/earnings-to-growth ratio, which factors in future growth, Palantir is at a multiple of nearly 2, which is still a bit high. Although in the tech world investors are often willing to pay obscene valuations for high growth, there is plenty of resistance for Palantir's stock at such heights. While its growth rate is impressive, it may not be enough to justify this kind of a valuation. Palantir is doing a lot of things well. It's profitable and its business is growing, but that's not enough to make the stock a good buy. If the company were to buy back shares and drastically reduce its share count, that could go a long way in generating more bullishness around the business. Unfortunately, without a lower share count or significantly higher profits, investors may continue to find the stock simply too expensive to buy at its current levels. The danger of buying at such high multiples is that investors end up paying for a lot of future growth. At a time when many stocks are starting to show signs of weakness, there may be better options out there for growth investors, which is why I don't think these results are going to be enough to send Palantir's stock much higher this year.

Is Palantir Technologies Stock a Buy Now? | The Motley Fool

The AI company delivered on its hype with spectacular Q2 earnings. High expectations aren't bad as long as you deliver the goods. Data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) software company Palantir Technologies (PLTR 0.71%) did that when it announced Q2 earnings, sending investors racing to buy up shares. The AI hype has been intense for the past few years, but Palantir is one of the few companies delivering real-world results. Now, the question is whether Palantir's business performance justifies buying what has become one of Wall Street's hottest stocks. Here's what you need to know. Palantir built its name by working with the government. The company develops custom software through its platforms, Gotham and Foundry, that analyze data in real time. The company has said it doesn't replace human intelligence but augments it. Palantir's technology has helped the U.S. with highly classified work, including an alleged role in finding infamous terrorist Osama bin Laden years ago. Today, Palantir still enjoys a tight relationship with the government, which contributes over half of its total revenue. The rest has come from Palantir's expansion into the private sector, using its software to help enterprises with various applications, from supply chain optimization to fraud detection. Last spring, the company launched AIP, a platform dedicated to commercial artificial intelligence applications. CEO Alex Karp has noted the tremendous demand for AIP, which has played a significant role in accelerating the company's revenue growth since last summer. Second-quarter earnings continued to show that AI momentum is still going strong. The company's U.S. commercial customer count increased to 295, an 83% year-over-year bump and a 13% increase from the prior quarter. Remaining deal value, or booked business that hasn't been invoiced yet, for U.S. commercial clients grew even faster, 103% from the year-ago quarter. In other words, Palantir's commercial growth is not only rampant, but it's still accelerating. There were other good tidbits from Palantir's Q2 performance, but its strong AI momentum was the key takeaway. The company's financials keep improving, supporting the idea that Palantir has competitive advantages and a unique product. Two metrics jump out here. First, Palantir's gross profit margin is consistently increasing, which implies that Palantir has pricing power. Additionally, the company's Rule of 40 number supports this. The Rule of 40 combines a company's revenue growth rate with the percentage of revenue it converts to operating income to determine whether a business can profitably grow. It flushes out potentially weak companies that grow by selling their product at a loss. As the metric's name implies, companies should target a combined revenue growth rate and operating margin of at least 40. Using its adjusted operating margin, Palantir's was a robust 57% in Q1, which improved to 64% in Q2. An increasing Rule of 40 number also indicates a strong business model. These numbers paint the picture of a great company, but that's only half the battle; the price you pay also matters. The stock trades at over 85 times its estimated 2024 earnings. A high enough growth rate can justify a steep valuation, but it's hard to make that case here. According to the most recent consensus analyst estimates, Palantir will grow its earnings an average of 24% annually over the next three to five years. Investors can use the PEG ratio to compare a stock's valuation to its growth. Generally, I like to pay a PEG ratio of 1.5 or less for a stock, maybe a ratio of 2 for an exceptional company. But Palantir's current PEG ratio of 3.5 is well beyond that. The company would have to dramatically outperform expectations over time to justify buying the stock at its current price. Could that happen? Of course, but there looks to be more risk than reward here. If the market gets shaky again like it did a couple of weeks ago, investors might be able to scoop up shares at a more reasonable price. A fair price is all a long-term investor needs for a stock like this.

Palo AltoQ4 FY2024 Preview: Growth-Valuation Mismatch, Avoid Buying (NASDAQ:PANW)

Looking for a helping hand in the market? Members of The Quantamental Investor get exclusive ideas and guidance to navigate any climate. Learn More " Introduction Heading into its Q4 FY2024 report, Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) stock has exhibited strong momentum, driven by expansion in its trading multiples: However, with Palo Alto Networks projected to deliver only +11% y/y top-line growth and a -2% y/y decline in normalized EPS for Q4 FY2024, PANW's forward P/E multiple of 55.4x appears to be out of whack with the financial realities of this cybersecurity giant. After initiating coverage on Palo Alto Networks stock in late 2023 with a "Buy" rating in the $240s, I have published two "Hold" ratings on PANW stock so far in 2024: In today's note, we shall preview PANW's upcoming report and re-evaluate the stock using TQI's Valuation Model to see if it's a buy/sell/hold at current levels. What Is The Earnings Forecast For PANW? For FY-2024, Palo Alto Networks' management has guided for revenue to be in the range of $2.15-2.17B [+10% to +11% y/y], with billings projected to come in at $3.43-3.48B [+9% to +10% y/y], and normalized EPS expected to land in the range of $1.40-1.42 per share [-3% to -1% y/y]. According to consensus analyst estimates, Palo Alto Networks is set to deliver total revenue of $2.16B (+10.8% y/y) for Q4 FY2024, and the range of these estimates is from $2.15-2.19B (vs. management's guidance range of $2.15-2.17B for this quarter). Furthermore, analyst estimates for non-GAAP EPS also stand in line with management's guidance of $1.41 per share. Despite positive revenue and EPS revision trends, the consensus analyst view on PANW's Q4 results perfectly aligns with management's guidance for the quarter heading into the print. Now, in recent quarters, Palo Alto Networks' billings performance has been wobbly, and its revenue growth rates have moderated significantly - trends that we observed and discussed at length in my Q3-FY24 earning review note: Palo Alto Networks: Platformization Is Not Fugazi, But Valuation Warrants Caution However, PANW's management has a long-standing track record of exceeding consensus street estimates: Since the current consensus street estimates for revenue and normalized EPS are sitting at the midpoint of management's guidance ranges, I think the setup for Monday's report is ripe for a double [top and bottom line] beat. Now, looking beyond Q4 FY2024, Palo Alto Networks appears set for a re-acceleration in revenues and earnings throughout FY2025 as the short-term pain from its "accelerated platformization" strategy abates. However, given PANW's rich valuation [55x forward earnings], the margin for error is de-minimus as any negative surprise in the Q4 report [especially on FY2025 guidance/outlook] could lead to a drastic price swing to the downside (i.e., valuation reset), similar to what we saw in February of this year post-PANW's Q2 FY2024 report. Here's why: PANW Stock Fair Value And Expected Return Palo Alto Networks is a high-quality cybersecurity company that's currently going through a transitional period amid a strategic shift to "Accelerated Platformization". With customers signing longer contracts and standardizing on Palo Alto Networks' platforms, the push for platformization is the right way to go for the long-term, despite its near-term impact on top-line growth. While Palo Alto Networks is still set to experience tepid top-line growth for the next couple of quarters, a re-acceleration back up to the mid-teens level within 9-15 months seems inevitable, given the strong initial customer response to PANW's "Accelerated Platformization" strategy. Considering PANW's "higher growth for longer" guide and AI potential, I am choosing to look beyond near-term growth rates in maintaining my 5-year CAGR sales growth assumption at 15% for today's valuation exercise. All other assumptions are relatively straightforward, but if you have any questions, please share them in the comments below. Here's my updated model for PANW: In light of its recent bounce, PANW stock has moved further away from our fair value estimate of $239.77 per share, which now indicates a -30% downside for PANW stock. Since we are using somewhat generous assumptions for forward sales growth and optimized margins, the margin of safety in our PANW model is quite low. Assuming an exit multiple of 25x P/FCF, Palo Alto Networks stock could rise from $343 to $505 per share at a CAGR rate of ~8% by 2029 [down from ~10% CAGR return at our previous assessment when PANW was trading in the low-$300s]. With PANW's expected CAGR returns falling well short of my investment hurdle rate of 15%, I am not a buyer here. Now, given that PANW's expected CAGR is still more or less in line with long-term S&P 500 (SPX) returns of 8-10% per year, I am also not a seller at these levels. Concluding Thoughts Going into its Q4 FY2024 report on Monday, 19th August 2024, Palo Alto Networks' stock trading at 55x forward earnings looks grossly mispriced, given ongoing revenue growth moderation and projected quarterly earnings decline. While Palo Alto Networks' business is set for re-acceleration through FY2025, our valuation model [based on generous assumptions] pegs PANW stock to be significantly overvalued. Also, in light of a ~10% rally in PANW stock since my last update on the cybersecurity giant, PANW's 5-year expected CAGR return has deteriorated from ~10% to ~8%. Since this expected return is still in line with long-term S&P-500 returns, I am sticking to a "Hold/Neutral" rating for Palo Alto Networks' stock; however, owning the broad S&P-500 index over PANW makes a ton of sense right now. Key Takeaway: Heading into Palo Alto Networks' Q4 FY2024 report, I continue to rate PANW stock "Hold/Neutral" at ~$343 per share. Thank you for reading, and happy investing! Please share any questions, thoughts, and/or concerns in the comments section below or DM me. We Are In An Asset Bubble, And TQI Can Help You Navigate It Profitably! Your investing journey is unique, and so are your investment goals and risk tolerance levels. This is precisely why we designed our investing group - "The Quantamental Investor" - to help you build a robust investing operation that can fulfill (and exceed) your long-term financial goals. At TQI, we are pursuing bold, active investing with proactive risk management to navigate this highly uncertain macroeconomic environment. Join our investing community and take control of your financial future today. JOIN THE QUANTAMENTAL INVESTOR "We're in an asset bubble, and I can help you navigate it profitably" I am Ahan Vashi, a seasoned investor with professional background in equity research, private equity, and software engineering. I currently serve as the Chief Financial Engineer at The Quantamental Investor, a community pursuing financial freedom through bold, active investing with proactive risk management. TQI was established in July 2022 with a singular mission to make investing simple, fun, and profitable for all investors. In alignment with this mission, we publish premium equity research reports on Seeking Alpha - research library - performance tracker. However, there's a lot more on offer within our investing group - features include highly-concentrated, risk-optimized model portfolios that meet investor needs across different stages of the investor lifecycle, access to proprietary software tools, and group chats. Learn more In addition to our work on SeekingAlpha, we publish best-in-class investing tidbits and research insights at TQI Tidbits [free newsletter], Twitter, and LinkedIn. Follow for more investing content. Analyst's Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. At TQI, we sold out of our PANW long position at $332.44 per share from our GARP portfolio. While PANW's expected 5-year CAGR return hadn't dropped below 5%, we transitioned to a higher-reward investment in a strategic move. If PANW's 5-year expected CAGR return were to exceed 15% again on the back of a price or time correction, I plan to buy again. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.