Accenture has agreed to acquire Faculty, a leading UK-based AI native services and products business built on highly technical applied AI skills and a unique decision intelligence product that features advanced simulation and optimization capabilities.

Takeover is largest-ever acquisition of a privately held UK AI start-up

Truist initiates Palantir with A buy rating. Accenture acquires rival Faculty. * REINHARDT KRAUSE * Updated 08:32 AM ET 01/06/2026 A Truist Securities analyst initiated coverage on Palantir Technologies (PLTR) on Tuesday with a buy rating and, like many other Wall Street analysts, cited its artificial intelligence prowess. But he also expects the data analytics software maker to "significantly increase capital returns over the long term" for Palantir stock. Truist Securities analyst Arvind Ramnani initiated Palantir stock with a buy rating and price target of 223. Meanwhile, Accenture (ACN) on Tuesday announced the purchase of Faculty, a U.K.-based artificial intelligence startup and rival of Palantir. Faculty's Chief Executive Officer Marc Warner will become Accenture's chief technology officer and the AI company's staff of about 400 people will join the information technology services giant. On the stock market today, Palantir stock rose a fraction to 175.15 in early trading. In the first two trading days of 2026, Palantir stock dipped over 3%. In 2025, Palantir stock rose 135% While Ramnani views Palantir as a leading artificial intelligence software provider, he also expects Palantir to significantly increase capital returns over the long term. "Now operating at a 40%-plus free cash flow margin profile, we see potential for Palantir to significantly increase capital returns over the long term," he said in a report. "While high levels of stock-based compensation had been an investor concern for some time, Palantir has shown it can operate profitably by generating positive GAAP EPS for the past 12 quarters and on track for a 13th straight quarter." As of Sept. 30, Palantir had $6.4 billion in cash and liquidity on its balance sheet. It does not currently offer a stock repurchase program or dividends. Artificial Intelligence push. Founded in 2003, Palantir provides data analytics tools to government customers for intelligence gathering, counterterrorism and military purposes. Palantir's tools are used in AI decision-making. Now Palantir aims to use generative AI to spur growth in the U.S. commercial market, such as health care and financial services. Generative AI relies on advanced reasoning models and provides novel outputs based on conversational user prompts. In 2025, Palantir hosted its eighth artificial intelligence conference for customers. Palantir initially rolled out its "Artificial Intelligence Platform" in early 2023. AIPCon showcases real-world AI use cases from customers. "We view Palantir as a best-in-class AI asset," Ramnani added. "We think Palantir is ideally positioned for increased AI adoption: Palantir holds a unique market position in our view, ideally positioned for increased AI adoption by both government organizations and enterprises. The company has provided a leading software platform that integrates large organizations' proprietary data with their operations and security to improve decision-making, which now positions Palantir to capture GenAI implementation with its AIP as organizations race to generate insights and efficiencies with the technology." Palantir stock technical ratings. Meanwhile, Palantir's Relative Strength Rating stands at 93 out of a best-possible 99. But PLTR stock holds an Accumulation/Distribution Rating of C-plus. That rating analyzes price and volume changes in a stock over the past 13 weeks of trading. A+ signifies heavy institutional buying; E means heavy selling. Think of a C grade as neutral. Also, Palantir stock holds a Composite Rating of 99 out of a best-possible 99, according to IBD Stock Checkup. IBD's Composite Rating combines five separate proprietary ratings into one easy-to-use rating. The best growth stocks have a Composite Rating of 90 or better. Follow Reinhardt Krause on X, formerly Twitter, @reinhardtk_tech for updates on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and cloud computing.