This Dirt Cheap Stock Is Up 262% This Year. Could It Be the Next Palantir?

Core Viewpoint - The market is experiencing significant interest in AI-based companies, particularly Palantir Technologies, which has seen its stock price increase by over 440% in the past year, despite a high price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 700 [1][2]. Company Overview: Palantir Technologies - Palantir utilizes AI to provide specialized services that create substantial value for its customers, leading to a strong demand for its offerings [2]. - The company operates in a niche market with high barriers to entry, contributing to sustained investor excitement despite its elevated valuation [2]. Company Overview: Pagaya Technologies - Pagaya is an AI-driven lending platform that assesses consumer credit using multiple data points, resulting in higher approval rates for loans [3]. - The company connects lenders and funding sources through a double-sided model and bundles loans into asset-backed securities (ABS) for institutional investors [3]. Recent Developments: Pagaya Technologies - Pagaya has established partnerships with notable lenders, including Visa and SoFi Technologies, and recently launched a buy now, pay later product called POSH [4]. - The first POSH deal is valued at $300 million and has received an AAA credit rating, involving 20 different investors [5]. Financial Performance: Pagaya Technologies - Pagaya has generated $2.8 billion in ABS deals in 2025 and raised $1 billion in funding for its POSH product [7]. - The company reported a revenue increase to $326 million, exceeding its forecast, with a network volume of $2.6 billion [11]. Market Position and Valuation: Pagaya Technologies - Pagaya's stock trades at a forward P/E ratio of 11.2 and a price-to-sales ratio of 2.4, indicating it may be undervalued for a growth stock [12]. - The addressable market for Pagaya's lending services is estimated to exceed $800 billion, significantly larger than Palantir's $70 billion market for data analytics [14].