What happened
Wall Street hates uncertainty. And sure enough, a management shake-up at Palantir Technologies (NYSE: PLTR) just days before the company's earnings release caused a stir among investors, sending the shares down as much as 6.9% on Friday morning.
So what
Palantir makes data analytics software used by government and commercial customers. The company debuted on public markets to great fanfare back in late 2020, but has struggled to keep that momentum going over the past year.
In a regulatory filing overnight, the company disclosed that on Jan. 29 Chief Accounting Officer Jeffrey Buckley announced plans to step down as soon as Palantir's 2022 10-K is filed. Controller Heather Planishek will succeed Buckley, with the outgoing exec planning to stay on board to assist with the transition.
Palantir also said that Chief Operating Officer Shyam Sankar was named chief technology officer and Chief Legal Officer Ryan Taylor was named chief revenue officer.
There is nothing to suggest anything sinister in the changes, but with Palantir set to release fourth-quarter and full-year results on Feb. 13, the timing did raise some eyebrows. Citi analyst Tyler Radke in a note called the changes "unusual and curious in timing," saying that "sales leadership changes post quarter often can indicate an attempt to shore up performance."
Radke warns that the moves could suggest that the fourth quarter was "less robust" than Palantir had hoped.
Now what
It's worth noting that Palantir gained back most of that initial drop as the morning went on. Indeed, there is no concrete evidence that the quarter was poor or that there are other unwelcome surprises on the horizon.
Palantir has been volatile around earnings announcements even without management changes. The company has impressive technology, but there are questions among investors about how that tech should be valued and how quickly Palantir can grow. If nothing else, Friday's move suggests that investors are antsy heading into the release of the numbers, and further volatility is likely when the quarterly results are released.
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Citigroup is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Lou Whiteman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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