Planet Labs $PL ( ▲ 7.79% ) traded higher Friday after Citi launched coverage with a buy and high risk rating alongside a 19 dollar price target. The move adds to an already strong week for the stock, which is up more than 40 percent after earnings highlighted the company’s growing potential at the intersection of satellite imagery and AI.
Citi’s aerospace and defense team said Planet Labs could benefit from a powerful flywheel as it integrates more AI into its platform. The firm noted that AI is speeding up the shift from raw imagery to actionable decisions, and Planet’s daily global scan combined with its massive data archive gives it a unique advantage in training and fine tuning models.
Citi highlighted traction with major customers like NATO and the U.S. Department of Defense through AI enabled products for broad area monitoring. The analysts said the model improvement loop could drive rising demand as more coverage generates more training data, which in turn enhances product performance and expands the addressable market.
The bullish note also caught the eye of retail traders, with call option activity spiking on Thursday as investors piled into the post earnings momentum.