Palantir, Amazon and Lam Research draw bullish analyst calls

Palantir, Amazon and Lam Research stocks were highlighted in a CNBC roundup of calls from selected Wall Street analysts ranked by TipRanks for their past performance. The cases offer three different ways to view AI spending, from enterprise software to cloud infrastructure and the equipment used to make chips, but they remain analyst opinions rather than a consensus view or a prediction of returns.

For individual investors, the distinction matters. A price target is an analyst’s estimate of where a stock could trade, based on that analyst’s assumptions, not a promise about future performance.

Why are analysts bullish on Palantir, Amazon and Lam Research?

The analysts cited reported growth in Palantir’s U.S. commercial business, accelerating demand at Amazon Web Services, and a stronger outlook for semiconductor-manufacturing equipment at Lam Research. Each company occupies a different part of the AI investment cycle.

Palantir: commercial customer growth

Bank of America analyst Mariana Perez Mora reiterated a buy rating on Palantir and set a $255 price target following the company’s second-quarter results, CNBC reported. Her argument centered on the company’s U.S. commercial operation, which she said has become a larger share of Palantir’s business.

According to CNBC’s account of Mora’s analysis, U.S. commercial revenue increased 149% in the second quarter of 2026. The U.S. commercial customer count rose 35% from a year earlier to 653, while trailing-12-month revenue per customer climbed 76% to $3.5 million. CNBC also reported that Palantir’s full-year outlook called for at least 134% growth in U.S. commercial revenue.

Those numbers describe rapid expansion in one segment, though they do not establish what future growth or the stock price will be.

Amazon: AWS growth alongside heavier AI spending

JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth reiterated a buy rating on Amazon, lifted his price target to $365 from $330 and named it the firm’s Best Idea, according to CNBC. He cited growth in AWS, Amazon’s cloud-computing unit, as well as its retail operation.

Amazon reported second-quarter net sales of $200.6 billion, up 20% year over year. AWS sales rose 37% to $42.2 billion, and AWS operating income reached $16.6 billion, according to the company’s July 30 earnings release.

The growth came with a cash-flow cost. Amazon reported trailing-12-month free cash flow of negative $7.6 billion, compared with positive $18.2 billion a year earlier. It attributed the change primarily to a $66.1 billion year-over-year rise in property-and-equipment purchases, reflecting AI investments. CNBC reported that management expects 2026 capital spending to reach $220 billion.

CNBC also reported an AWS backlog of $496 billion in the quarter. Anmuth viewed that figure as evidence of demand across core cloud workloads and AI adoption.

Lam Research: equipment demand

Oppenheimer analyst Edward Yang reaffirmed a buy rating on Lam Research with a $400 price target, CNBC reported. Lam supplies equipment and services used in semiconductor manufacturing, placing it upstream from the companies building and operating AI systems.

Yang cited strong performance from Lam’s Customer Support Business Group, a sequential doubling in NAND revenue and improved gross margin in fiscal fourth-quarter results. He also said the company’s September-quarter revenue and earnings-per-share outlook exceeded Street expectations by mid-teens percentages.

According to CNBC, Yang said Lam raised its outlook for wafer-fabrication-equipment spending to the low-$150 billion range from $140 billion. He also pointed to management’s description of calendar 2027 as “extraordinary,” tied to persistent supply shortages and 8 to 10 new fabrication plants.

The roundup does not provide a full valuation comparison, detailed downside cases or independent research notes for the Palantir and Lam calls. Those limits are worth keeping in view alongside the stated growth catalysts.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.